PANJIM: Over eight lakh square metres of land were converted to settlement zones in the second week of March this year itself under the Section 17 (2) amendment of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act.
The Goa Bachao Abhiyan which spearheaded and won the agitation against the earlier propel unfriendly Regional Plan 2011, collated the data from official records and gazettes. The organisation interestingly pointed out that the conversions were completed just before the Lok Sabha elections were announced and the Model Code of Conduct commenced.
The above land conversions were part of 16,58,578 square metres of land which were converted between April 2023 and March 2024. While 50 per cent of this figure was converted in a span of 11 months, between April last year and February this year, 8,25,648 square metres were converted within a week between March 7 and 14.
Original zoning of 5.80 lakh square metres of land missing
Importantly 5,80,502, the original zoning of sqms of land now converted to settlement zones, has not been published, GBA said.
According to the GBA, of the lands converted, 34 per cent was originally orchard, 14 per cent was natural cover, 13 per cent were paddy fields, while industrial and settlement areas each comprised 2 per cent. This leaves a huge chunk of 35 per cent land conversion cases that remains unaccounted for, as their original zones have not been mentioned.
This means that out of 16,58,578 square metres, the State government has not published what were the original zones of 5,80,502 square metres of land now converted to settlement zones across Goa. The glass of transparency gets foggier in the last two notifications dated March 12 and March 14, wherein the government has omitted not only the applicants’ names but also the original zone of the lands as per RP 2021.
“Of 50 per cent of land conversions carried out in the week March 7-14, 35 per cent of the cases do not show the original zone as per RP 2021,” adds Social activist Swapnesh Sherlekar.
Sherlekar, added, “Till April 2023, the government published land conversions furnishing details including the survey number, village, the name of the consultant who recommended the ‘correction’, the total area in square metres and the original zone as per the Regional Plan (RP) 2021.”
Architect and planner Tahir Noronha further points out that the original owners of the lands were not the ones applying for correction of zones but recent buyers, who are real estate entities.
“In the High Court, the first 27 respondents filed their affidavits. Only one party owned the land before 2020. My question is: how can you claim a correction or even an error in the plan if you were not a party when the plan was made. It defies legal doctrine and definitely planning doctrine. The 17 (2) provision is a law that doesn’t exist in any other State of India or frankly in planning laws in the world I am aware of,” says Noronha.
“In Old Goa itself, most of the applicants are either politicians or large real estate companies. It’s symptomatic of the entire State,” he added.
Solano da Silva, professor and a resident of Pilerne, who spoke on the topic ‘The Great Goan Land Grab’ at the Xavier Centre for Historical Research (XCHR) in Porvorim last week, pointed out how the government has converted a lake’s catchment area in Pilerne, Bardez, for a real estate company.
“Using 17 (2), the TCP has converted 86,000 square metres of land in Pilerne-Marra, resulting in a 22 per cent increase in settlement area in just five months for the benefit of nine real estate parties. The cruellest joke that this government has pulled is that they celebrated World Wetland Day at Savlem Lake on February 2, and after 12 days, converted the lake’s catchment area into a settlement zone for a real estate company. This government has demonstrated beyond doubt that its true commitment lies to select private parties and not to the public,” says da Silva.
When asked whether more than 16 lakh square metres land was converted within a year as per the gazette notifications, Chief Town Planner Rajesh Naik said, “I am not aware of it. If you have compiled then it would be okay.”