Panaji: Responding to criticism over land-use conversions, TCP minister Vishwajit Rane said roughly 14 lakh sqm or less than 1% of land under Goa’s Regional Plan 2021 has been converted under Section 39A over the last four-and-a-half years, while about 20 crore sqm have instead been designated No Development Area (NDA).He suggested that objections raised by some individuals ahead of the elections stemmed from personal land holdings falling under no-development zones, low-lying, or paddy field classifications, claiming to possess correspondence that he would release publicly “at the appropriate time.”Rane said that govt was not permitting construction on paddy fields, low-lying areas, or no-development slopes, and that only 250 sqm of construction is allowed within private forest land, subject to a No-Objection Certificate from the forest department. Rane cited his own family’s land on the Wageri hills, which he said had itself been placed under NDA classification, as an example that the restrictions applied uniformly.A day earlier on Tuesday, Goa town and country planning (TCP) board took a policy decision to restrict construction on plots containing pre-1961 traditional houses, as part of measures aimed at protecting the state’s architectural heritage.Under the directive, pre-1961 traditional houses situated on plots of 500 square metres or more, located outside Outline Development Plan (ODP) areas, will be subject to a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 40%. Goa was liberated from 450 years of Portuguese rule in 1961. The policy also prohibits the structural demolition of such houses, with officials stating the objective is to safeguard traditional architecture and preserve the rural character and historic streetscapes of older settlements.Rane has also discussed recommendations to protect traditional structures and private forests. Rane said several decisions had been taken in the public interest. He said he had asked the TCP department’s conservation committee to formally submit its recommendations to govt for further examination before any additional decisions were finalised.
