PANAJI: Amid increasing calls to abolish Section 39A of the Town and Country Planning Act, the TCP department has proposed converting 14 tracts of land across four talukas from agricultural fields and green cover to settlement zones.
The proposed conversions encompass approximately 11,908 square meters across villages in Bardez, Ponda, Quepem, and Salcete. These land use change proposals have been approved by the TCP board and are now open for public objections for a period of 30 days.
Notable proposals include two adjacent applications in Arpora, Bardez. Beyond Villas LLP has applied for the conversion of 5,642 square meters of land, partly categorized as orchard and natural cover, including land marked as a no-development slope, into settlement. Omega Architects Pvt Ltd also seeks to convert 4,509 square meters of land in the same area, currently classified as natural cover and no-development slope. The department indicated that final approval would depend on input from the forest department.
Viiking Media & Entertainment received permission to convert 1,890 square meters of orchard land within a larger settlement area of 10,150 square meters in Candolim. Other zone change proposals involve smaller plots ranging from 175 to 608 square meters.
In Ponda taluka, four conversion proposals were recommended for Usgao village, including two applications by one individual for 225 square meter natural cover plots, and two applications involving orchard land of 175 and 349 square meters. A 608 square meter orchard plot in Quepem also needs feedback from the forest department and the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority for final approval.
Multiple proposals were submitted from Sao Jose de Areal, with four applicants requesting conversion of irrigated agricultural land within the irrigation command area, pending approval from the WRD. In Loutolim, a proposal for 500 square meters of orchard land was also submitted.
