'Rabid devpt under way as RP sits on backburner' (ToI)

'Rabid devpt under way as RP sits on backburner' TNN | Aug 8, 2013, 04.03 AM IST PANAJI: Even as the holistic planning for Goa through the regional plan (RP) 2021 was put on the backburner after the RP's final release in October 2011, parallel planning by the government and the builders' lobby continues apace outside the scope of the RP, allege activists and NGOs. Pointing out that the government has unveiled a series of projects-'Imagine Panaji', development of jetties on the Mandovi riverfront, changes in the outline development plan (ODP) and plans under Jawaharlal Nehru national urban renewal mission ( JNNURM)-activists say this is disparate development without a vision. "Successive governments have failed to appreciate the concept of one state, one plan and one good 'Imagine Goa' plan," says social activist Yatish Naik, alleging, "That is why there is one RP and 6 ODPs." While the RP has been shelved, four municipalities, a corporation (Panaji) and even the Taleigao village have ODPs. The municipal areas of Valpoi, Sanguem, Canacona, Bicholim, Sakhali, Curchorem-Cacora, Pernem and Cuncolim, on the other hand, are deprived of any participatory planning, he adds. "The government may have mooted 'Imagine Panaji', but what about participatory planning for these civic bodies?" Activists also criticize the piecemeal planning, stating that it is beyond the scope of not just RP 2021 but also the ODPs. "Adequate road width and parking lots are important for proper planning and urban decongestion, but permissions are given for highrise buildings in Panaji without requisite parking clauses," says Sabina Martins, convener, Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA). Jetties on the riverfront are encroaching into the Mandovi river. "The plans for 'Imagine Panaji' do not fit into the ODP parameters, and the ODP itself does not fit into the RP," she adds. Naik agrees. "The government announced a 35-storey viewing tower at Baga, but the village has a VP 1 status and only 80% floor area ratio (FAR). This cut-copy-paste idea exposes the government agencies' bankruptcy." While the former Congress government jumbled up on RP 2021, the BJP government, and the party at various levels, which had assured to draw up a new RP in a transparent manner, have also failed to fulfill the repeated assurances since March 2013. "It should not be only hope on paper. The government should take the assurances forward," says Naik. John Philip Pereira, president of the group, Village Groups of Goa, says the delay is only helping builders to exploit the lacuna in RP 2001, which is being followed for planning purposes now. More than 8,000 suggestions of interest groups, such as builders, and objected to by activists have been taken up directly by the TCP, he alleges. The policy spelt out in the final release (Release 3), allowing houseboats, floating hotels in water bodies and helipads in fields will spell disaster for the fragile ecology, says Naik. "Planning in important areas, on the other hand, is ignored. Nothing has been done, since 2009, to rectify the omission of the protected (100m) and regulated (200m) zones around the world heritage site of Old Goa despite repeated reminders," he adds. S T Puttaraju, chief town planner, declined to reply to the allegations. "We have not received any instructions from the government to revert RP 2021 to the panchayats," he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Rabid-devpt-under-way-as-RP-sits-on-backburner/articleshow/21694952.cms