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Goans crusade against real estate boom

There has been a mass protest against transforming vast areas of forest into settlement zones under the Regional Plan

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There has been a mass protest against transforming vast areas of forest into settlement zones under the Regional Plan
 
PANAJI: In a bid to save Goa from the throes of real estate boom and preserve its natural beauty, Goans have finally come together and have raised their voice against the Regional Plan 2011. According to the plan, around seven crore square meters of land was sought for real estate purposes.
 
 The Town and Country Planning Minister and the mastermind behind the plan, Atanasio Monserrate, alias Babush, has been pushed into the backfoot ever since the who's who of Goa, including fashion designer Wendell Rodricks, have joined in the crusade.
 
If the proposed plan, which was notified in August this year, is used as a blueprint for construction work, it would turn many jungles and orchards into settlement zones, said many. Interestingly, the final plan is completely different from the draft plan that came out three years ago, suggesting that no opportunity was given to the public to raise voice their opinion.
 
Babush received a setback last week when the High Court temporarily stayed the Regional Plan and now he finds himself deserted even by officials in the TCP department, who claim that they did not get a copy of the draft plan. The convenor of the newly-formed Save Goa Forum, Oscar Rebello, calls it a “manipulation by vested interest to relegate Goa into an urban slum.” And, not only the forum, but most Goans feel that Babush has embraced the building lobby to fulfil his ambition of becoming Goa’s chief minister.
 
But Babush produced photocopies of the official correspondence he had with all government departments, including forest, PWD, Water Resources, Goa State Coastal Zone Management Authority, asking them to specify reserved areas (for forests, orchards), road alignments, etc before finalising the plan.
 
He claimed that he received no replies from any of the departments despite several reminders.
 
Also red-faced is former chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who now says, “If voted to power, my Party (the BJP) will revise the entire regional plan...” His detractors say that the concretisation of Goa started when he was the chief minister. They cite the construction in Panaji by cutting down trees, by demolishing Campal stadium as some examples of the damage done to Goa.
 
Despite all anomalies, the Save Goa Forum, hopes to start a movement to halt the destruction of Goa. Dean D’Cruz, an architect, said: “The plan sanctions illegality. This will fuel land speculation and shut out community needs.” Already in areas like Baga, hills have been cut and sand dunes flattened to make way for construction.
 
“I hope these can be reversed, because the ecology of Goa has already been threatened,” said Heta Pandit of the Goan Heritage Action Group.
 
Two months back, Dean, Patricia Pinto, who is the convenor of the People's Movement for Civic Action and Heta Pandit, had come together to seek withdrawal of the Plan, on the grounds that it is “anti-people, anti-Goa and anti-environment.”
 
Goa’s emergence as a hot property destination is said to have fuelled the conversion apart from the fact that it is a trendy tourist destination.
 
“What is worrying now is that people from Bombay and Delhi are looking for real estate in Goa. It is largely for them that builders have sought for more areas for construction work.”
 
Realty Check
 
Goans have vehemently protested against the Regional Plan 2011
 
According to the plan, around seven crore square meters of land is sought for real estate purposes
 
The Town and Country Planning Minister and the key mastermind, Atanasio Monserrate, is cornered after the protest
 
People in Goa see the plan as “anti-people, anti-Goa”
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