PANAJI: As scrutiny intensifies regarding the extensive use of Section 39A of the Goa Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act for altering land use classifications in the Regional Plan 2021, the TCP department has sanctioned the conversion of over 5.8 lakh sqm of land into non-development areas.
This decision, enacted through a recent notification, aims to protect eco-sensitive zones from being utilized for commercial or residential development.
The most significant approval involves Salvador do Mundo in Bardez, where 2.2 lakh sqm across various survey holdings has been classified as non-developable land. Initially covering 2.7 lakh sqm of no-development zones, which include slopes, orchards, and natural covers, the department retained 52,570 sqm as settlement zones.
In Pernem, 2.3 lakh sqm at Mandrem, consisting of orchards and no-development slopes, has been designated as non-developable. Additionally, one lakh sqm in Cavelossim, Salcete, comprising paddy fields, orchards, mangroves, and settlement areas, has also been categorized under the no-development classification.
Another proposal for 32,376 sqm in Morjim has been approved for use as a playground and classified as a non-developable area.
With these approvals, around 5.8 lakh sqm of land now holds non-development status—a move TCP minister Vishwajit Rane is expected to highlight as a response to critiques that Section 39A has mainly enabled development-oriented zone changes.
This criticism is bolstered by another notification issued by the TCP department on Thursday, which approved four applications to convert ecologically sensitive and agricultural land into settlement zones.
The approved applications include 240 sqm of orchard land at Aldona, 321 sqm at Cumbharjua, and 259 sqm at Socorro, all reclassified from orchard to settlement zones.
Of particular significance is the endorsement of converting a 300 sqm plot at Karapur, Bicholim, from ‘cultivable land with irrigation command area’ to a settlement zone. However, any secondary development on this property will require a no-objection certificate from the water resources department.
These approvals signal the continued use of Section 39A to modify land-use classifications on a case-by-case basis, including the transformation of agricultural and environmentally significant lands into settlement zones.
The TCP department has indicated that all applications were processed under the Goa Town and Country Planning (Change of Zone of Land in the Regional Plan or the Outline Development Plan) Rules, but the modifications are still subject to the outcome of pending writ petitions before the Bombay High Court.
