Calangute: More than 800 residents of Calangute and Arpora have submitted a complaint to the chief town planner opposing the proposed conversion of 65,310sqm of land on Baga hill into settlement zone under Section 39A of the TCP Act. The land is classified as no-development slope, orchard, private forest, or natural cover in Regional Plan 2021.The proposed rezoning covers survey nos 254/1 (part), 260/5, 266/2 and 76/0 of Calangute, and 57/1A (plots 1, 3, 5 and 6) of Arpora-Nagoa.“It is apparent that the TCP board is proceeding to permit large-scale destruction of hill slopes and areas under natural cover. Such changes will damage the environment, disturb the ecological balance, and increase the risk of landslides, flooding, and loss of biodiversity,” said Premanand Divkar, who filed the complaint on behalf of the villagers.“A gram sabha of the Arpora-Nagoa panchayat on Feb 22 expressed serious concern over the misuse of Section 39A of the TCP Act for indiscriminate zoning changes and unanimously resolved to reject all such applications within the jurisdiction of the panchayat,” the complaint stated. “This proposal is yet another attempt to dilute the RP under the garb of ‘development’, while the real beneficiaries remain private interests.”
