Panaji: The Town and Country Planning department continues clearing conversion applications for land parcels to settlement zones under Section 39A of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act. In its latest tranche, 37 land parcels are slated for conversion to settlement but simultaneously, the department has also moved to demarcate 1 crore sqm of already protected landscapes across five villages as Non-Developable Areas (NDA).The TCP board headed by TCP minister Vishwajit Rane has granted final approval for 16 private applications covering about 15,022 sqm of land across Ponda, Salcete, Bardez, Quepem and Tiswadi. The approvals convert orchard land, natural cover, cultivable land under irrigation command areas and other categories into settlement zones, several of them subject to clearances from agencies such as the Forest Department, Water Resources Department, Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) and village panchayats.The 16 applications that received final government approval include seven adjoining orchard plots in Usgao, Ponda, each measuring between 236 sq m and 380 sq m, that have been converted into settlement zones. Among the larger approvals are a 2,768 sqm plot at Verna that has been converted from cultivable Land with Irrigation Command Area to Settlement Zone with Irrigation Command Area, subject to a Water Resources Department NOC.In Salcete, a 2,453 sqm land parcel at Margao has been converted from Natural Reserve/Orchard to settlement, with the notification specifically recording that the land falls within the permissible gradient.The TCP board has also approved two applications by Bougainuvilla Heritage Pvt Ltd at Nachinola, converting a combined 3,157 sqm of natural cover into settlement zones after obtaining Forest Department clearance.On a parallel track, the board has also placed a new batch of 21 applications for public consultation, signalling the continued rollout of Section 39A rezoning proposals across Goa. Among the most proposals put up for stakeholders to voice their objections or suggestions, are a 24,961 sqm plot at Nadora, Bardez, a 10,100 sqm land parcel at Assagao, 7,501 sqm plot at Anjuna, 10,000 sqm at Morjim and land parcels at Pirna and Nerul.Most proposals have been submitted by real estate companies and involve conversion of natural cover, paddy fields, irrigation command areas and no-development slopes, many carrying conditions requiring comments from the Forest Department, Water Resources Department, GCZMA or village panchayats.To counterbalance the private zone-change applications, the TCP Board has identified eco-sensitive land spread across Duncolim, Assolna, Velim, Corlim and Sarzora that can be demarcated as Non-Developable Areas.With this one notification, the TCP board has effectively placed 10,573,942 sqm (approximately 1,057 hectares) beyond future development.
