PANAJI: The Town and Country Planning (TCP) department has authorized the conversion of an additional 11,948 sqm of land from orchard and natural cover to settlement zone under Section 39A of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act. This decision is part of ongoing modifications to the Regional Plan for Goa 2021, which were announced over the past week.
A notification from the TCP department dated June 24 has finalized five proposals across Pernem, Canacona, and Bardez. Two of these approvals involve the transformation of natural cover into a settlement zone, while the remaining three convert orchard land into settlement.
The most significant approvals pertain to two adjacent plots in Marra village, Bardez. Vivienda Buildtech LLP has received permission to change 3,634 sqm of natural cover to a settlement zone, while Black Swan Developers LLP has obtained approval for the conversion of another 3,340 sqm from natural cover to a settlement area. Both projects must secure a no-objection certificate from the forest department before proceeding with secondary development.
The other approvals include the conversion of 4,067 sqm of orchard land in Morjim, Pernem, owned by Gangareddy Infra Pvt Ltd, 559 sqm of orchard land in Poinguinim, Canacona, and 348 sqm of orchard land in Aldona into settlement zones.
Altogether, these five proposals convert 11,948 sqm into settlement zoning, with 6,974 sqm derived from natural cover and 4,974 sqm from orchard land.
These recent approvals follow another government notification issued last week, which green-lighted eight Section 39A proposals that covered approximately 18,800 sqm of land for conversion to settlement. More proposals included alterations pertaining to natural cover, orchards, paddy fields, and irrigation command areas in Assagao, Siolim, Marra, Aldona, Morjim, Pilerne, and Quepem. Many of these conversions were also subject to clearances from forest, agriculture, and water resources departments.
In a separate development, the TCP department has released notifications proposing the conversion of 1.04 crore sqm of mangroves, khazan lands, paddy fields, and ponds into non-developable areas. The seven approved proposals were all sourced from Salcete.
In contrast to the settlement conversions, these notifications impose additional development restrictions on the already protected lands.
As with previous Section 39A notifications, the TCP department has clarified that changes to the Regional Plan will remain contingent on the outcomes of the PIL Writ Petition Nos. 53 of 2024 and 54 of 2024, which are still pending before the Bombay High Court at Goa.
