By Nandkumar M Kamat
IT is tragic to see the total collapse of Goa Town and Country Planning Act, 1974, copied from similar act in Maharashtra state and notified on November 4, 1975. Its original objectives were to prepare within three years – Outline Development Plans or ODPs (Chapter III, Sections 29, 30), Comprehensive Development Plans or CDPs (sections 31 and 32) and the most important goal was as enshrined in Chapter VIII, Town Planning Schemes TPS (Sections 56, 57). Regional plan (RP) as indicated in section 9, 10, 11 was intimately tied to the above and the act presupposed that all four would be ready by 1980.
Actually there was little progress on ODPs till 2000 and government developed cold feet on CDPs and TPS. The astonishing part is that during last nine years of public discourse on RP-2011 and 2021 not a single substantive question was raised regarding failure of the government to prepare CDPs and TPS and how selectively one can go ahead with only a regional plan? Such a peculiar and selective techno-legal approach is unheard of in areas of land use or spatial planning anywhere else in world.
While conducting a public hearing for state government as one man commission in December 2001 on the controversial Miramar Beach Management Plan (MBMP) the then member secretary of NGPDA had appeared before me with a cadastral level colour coded map of Panaji ODP for Campal-Miramar area. When I asked him whether such ODP can function without a CDP, he had admitted that it was not possible. I had brought to his notice the violations of land use in that area and encroachments by private parties on government land. He appeared helpless before the powers.
But since 1976, Goa has witnessed a strange practice of invoking RP when most suited and burying any discourse on ODP, CDP and TPS. If we don’t have these three important plans even during 2015 for 357 revenue villages and 70 census towns in India’s highly urbanised state then what is purpose of the noise about RP-2021? How can it function without statutory ODPs, CDPs and TPS which should have been there first? The number of census towns increased from 44 in 2001 to 70 in 2011. But which town has a TPS? Only CCP because of promise of substantial JNNURM funding support could produce a comprehensive development plan (CDP) in 2007 prepared by HUDCO. But strange exclusionary politicians of CCP did a serious strategic mistake by excluding other beneficiary areas under Panaji Urban Agglomerate (PUA) for which originally the full JNNURM scheme was applicable. This mistake at one stroke left out 40 thousand citizens of census towns of Taleigao, Merces, Santa Cruz, Bambolim and Chimbel and government lost entitlement of hundreds of crores under JNNURM for full PUA. The central government only wanted the project reports for PUA to be ready. All these semi-urban areas were fully entitled to receive substantial support under JNNURM. It was bad decision making, bad politics and very poor economics.
Goa is now digging its grave in the name of RP-2021 which has the hidden agenda of destroying local self-governance by empowering the town and country planning board (TCPB). The politically, economically, ecologically interesting game that is being played in Goa since December 2006 in the name of Regional Plan is actually restricted to about 41200 hectares land that is left under notional jurisdiction of centralised planning of TCPB.
Although the government published the official rates of land in Goa in 2013 in gazette, these are ridiculously low compared to open market real estate prices. Assuming an average rate of Rs 5,000 per square metre, the value of a hectare of land is Rs 5 crore. So the full discourse on RP-2021 boils down to a notional stake in land capital of Rs 2,06,000 crore. This doesn’t take into account other valuable assets on these lands. Since the average land prices are likely to escalate in future, there are high stakes in land that is left for spatial planning.
The calculation to arrive at figure of 41200 hectare is simple. It was sent to the Chief Minister in August 2012. Let us begin from total official land area of Goa – 361113 hectares (ha). Regional plan has no say over island of Anjediv, 700 hectares already gifted to the Indian Navy. So that leaves 360413 ha. Remove 125473 ha of government forest land over which RP has no say. You are left with 234940 ha. Exclude 21000 ha of Khazan land, 4000 ha of mangroves, 4400 ha of land under coastal CRZ where town and country planning department has no jurisdiction. The department can’t dictate the agricultural land use plans which are covered under land revenue code 1968, tenancy act, 1964, Irrigation act, 1973 and Command area development act, 1997. After excluding 130000 hectares of agricultural lands, the net area sown excluding command area of various dams only 75400 ha land is left for any further consideration.
From this we need to exclude land under existing industrial estates and defense establishments amounting to 7200 ha. Land under pastures and social forestry occupies another 2000 ha. Finally only 66200 ha land is left for applying any idea of spatial planning under TCP Act, 1974. But this includes 25000 ha land already occupied by existing human settlements where poor scope exists for major land use adjustments. So finally the whole farce of regional planning and regional plan is reduced to 41200 ha of land. Or roughly an average area of 100 ha behind every revenue village and census town. It is foolish to believe that Goans who nursed and managed noble institutions like ‘Gaunkaris’ or ‘communidades’ don’t have the common sense to take decisions at village or town levels to do micro level land use planning themselves. But the misinformed urban elite which has high-jacked the full RP-2021 discourse since December 2006 don’t wish to surrender centralised control by town and country planning board and that’s the most dangerous aspect of the game that’s going to be played out with high economic stakes before assembly elections 2017 making RP-2021 a regional pain for all stakeholders (to be continued).
http://www.navhindtimes.in/why-regional-plan-is-regional-pain-ii/
IT is tragic to see the total collapse of Goa Town and Country Planning Act, 1974, copied from similar act in Maharashtra state and notified on November 4, 1975. Its original objectives were to prepare within three years – Outline Development Plans or ODPs (Chapter III, Sections 29, 30), Comprehensive Development Plans or CDPs (sections 31 and 32) and the most important goal was as enshrined in Chapter VIII, Town Planning Schemes TPS (Sections 56, 57). Regional plan (RP) as indicated in section 9, 10, 11 was intimately tied to the above and the act presupposed that all four would be ready by 1980.
Actually there was little progress on ODPs till 2000 and government developed cold feet on CDPs and TPS. The astonishing part is that during last nine years of public discourse on RP-2011 and 2021 not a single substantive question was raised regarding failure of the government to prepare CDPs and TPS and how selectively one can go ahead with only a regional plan? Such a peculiar and selective techno-legal approach is unheard of in areas of land use or spatial planning anywhere else in world.
While conducting a public hearing for state government as one man commission in December 2001 on the controversial Miramar Beach Management Plan (MBMP) the then member secretary of NGPDA had appeared before me with a cadastral level colour coded map of Panaji ODP for Campal-Miramar area. When I asked him whether such ODP can function without a CDP, he had admitted that it was not possible. I had brought to his notice the violations of land use in that area and encroachments by private parties on government land. He appeared helpless before the powers.
But since 1976, Goa has witnessed a strange practice of invoking RP when most suited and burying any discourse on ODP, CDP and TPS. If we don’t have these three important plans even during 2015 for 357 revenue villages and 70 census towns in India’s highly urbanised state then what is purpose of the noise about RP-2021? How can it function without statutory ODPs, CDPs and TPS which should have been there first? The number of census towns increased from 44 in 2001 to 70 in 2011. But which town has a TPS? Only CCP because of promise of substantial JNNURM funding support could produce a comprehensive development plan (CDP) in 2007 prepared by HUDCO. But strange exclusionary politicians of CCP did a serious strategic mistake by excluding other beneficiary areas under Panaji Urban Agglomerate (PUA) for which originally the full JNNURM scheme was applicable. This mistake at one stroke left out 40 thousand citizens of census towns of Taleigao, Merces, Santa Cruz, Bambolim and Chimbel and government lost entitlement of hundreds of crores under JNNURM for full PUA. The central government only wanted the project reports for PUA to be ready. All these semi-urban areas were fully entitled to receive substantial support under JNNURM. It was bad decision making, bad politics and very poor economics.
Goa is now digging its grave in the name of RP-2021 which has the hidden agenda of destroying local self-governance by empowering the town and country planning board (TCPB). The politically, economically, ecologically interesting game that is being played in Goa since December 2006 in the name of Regional Plan is actually restricted to about 41200 hectares land that is left under notional jurisdiction of centralised planning of TCPB.
Although the government published the official rates of land in Goa in 2013 in gazette, these are ridiculously low compared to open market real estate prices. Assuming an average rate of Rs 5,000 per square metre, the value of a hectare of land is Rs 5 crore. So the full discourse on RP-2021 boils down to a notional stake in land capital of Rs 2,06,000 crore. This doesn’t take into account other valuable assets on these lands. Since the average land prices are likely to escalate in future, there are high stakes in land that is left for spatial planning.
The calculation to arrive at figure of 41200 hectare is simple. It was sent to the Chief Minister in August 2012. Let us begin from total official land area of Goa – 361113 hectares (ha). Regional plan has no say over island of Anjediv, 700 hectares already gifted to the Indian Navy. So that leaves 360413 ha. Remove 125473 ha of government forest land over which RP has no say. You are left with 234940 ha. Exclude 21000 ha of Khazan land, 4000 ha of mangroves, 4400 ha of land under coastal CRZ where town and country planning department has no jurisdiction. The department can’t dictate the agricultural land use plans which are covered under land revenue code 1968, tenancy act, 1964, Irrigation act, 1973 and Command area development act, 1997. After excluding 130000 hectares of agricultural lands, the net area sown excluding command area of various dams only 75400 ha land is left for any further consideration.
From this we need to exclude land under existing industrial estates and defense establishments amounting to 7200 ha. Land under pastures and social forestry occupies another 2000 ha. Finally only 66200 ha land is left for applying any idea of spatial planning under TCP Act, 1974. But this includes 25000 ha land already occupied by existing human settlements where poor scope exists for major land use adjustments. So finally the whole farce of regional planning and regional plan is reduced to 41200 ha of land. Or roughly an average area of 100 ha behind every revenue village and census town. It is foolish to believe that Goans who nursed and managed noble institutions like ‘Gaunkaris’ or ‘communidades’ don’t have the common sense to take decisions at village or town levels to do micro level land use planning themselves. But the misinformed urban elite which has high-jacked the full RP-2021 discourse since December 2006 don’t wish to surrender centralised control by town and country planning board and that’s the most dangerous aspect of the game that’s going to be played out with high economic stakes before assembly elections 2017 making RP-2021 a regional pain for all stakeholders (to be continued).
http://www.navhindtimes.in/why-regional-plan-is-regional-pain-ii/
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