Panaji: The latest round of land-use changes under Section 39A of the Town and Country Planning Act has once again put the spotlight on Morjim, with the TCP board recommending the conversion of 31,222sqm of land across the state, nearly 90% of it in Pernem taluka.The 16 proposals cleared by the board include changes involving orchards, natural cover, cultivable land, and land under irrigation command areas. Most of the land is proposed to be brought into the settlement zone, shows the notification.The concentration of applications is striking as of the 31,222sqm recommended for change, 27,829sqm is in Pernem, accounting for about 89% of the total. Within Pernem, Morjim alone accounts for 27,287sqm, or roughly 87% of the entire area covered by the notification.The figures underline how Section 39A, which allows changes to the zoning of individual parcels in the Regional Plan 2021, is continuing to alter the land-use pattern through a series of parcel-level decisions rather than through a single large-scale revision of the Regional Plan.The notification says that the 16 applications are now open for public suggestions, with a 30-day period provided for objections and suggestions.Two proposals, by Imagico India Pvt Ltd and Elemento Homes Pvt Ltd, involve 4,067sqm each, both currently classified as orchard land. Three other proposals are by Gangareddy Infra Pvt Ltd. They involve 4,710sqm, 5,095sqm, and 9,348sqm respectively. Together, the three Gangareddy proposals account for 19,153sqm.The five Morjim proposals therefore amount to more than four-fifths of all the land covered by the notification.In Assagao, 1,346sqm of natural cover with irrigation command area is recommended for conversion to settlement zone, subject to comments from the water resources department.In Sircaim, 175sqm is recommended for settlement use. This includes 135sqm of orchard and 40sqm of cultivable land with irrigation command area.Another 300sqm of natural cover with the irrigation command area in Nagvem, Quepem, has been recommended for settlement, also subject to comments from the WRD. In Dhargalim, Pernem, 242sqm of natural cover with the irrigation command area has been recommended for settlement.
