Nandkumar M Kamat
BEFORE even looking at the old disbanded RP-2011 or new RP-2021 still in news, anyone having access to the free Google Earth (GE) satellite imagery-based application may use its historical image tool from the menu bar and compare and contrast the changing landscape of Goa from 2003 to 2015. Every village panchayat and municipal council should use it.The government had purchased 200 netbooks for the talathis. They can use the netbooks to see for themselves whether the land use changes in their reporting areas comply with revenue code and tenancy act. The collectors have failed to enforce the land revenue code, 1968 and tenancy act 1964 and rules effectively, probably because they are overloaded with other works.
But people expect the collectors of both the districts to take a ‘suo moto’ padyatra every week to see how they are responsible for not using the powers given to them by Constitution of India. By their inaction as seen from Google Earth and supporting evidence in field, they have allegedly permitted Goa’s land resources to be abused. They won’t believe what they would see in ‘padyatra’ outside Panaji, Margao, Ponda, Vasco, Bicholim, Canacona and Mapusa. The highways authority of PWD can see for itself how setback areas within control line of state and national highways have been taken over by thousands of unauthorised encroachments.
PWD is fully responsible for this roadside mess created all over Goa due to its total failure to implement sections 7 to 25 and penalty sections 55 to 59 of The Goa, Daman and Diu Highways Act 1974 and Rules 1976. RP-2021 has absolutely no provision to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Whoever looks at Goa’s landscape transformation from 2003 to 2015 on Google Earth would be shocked. It is a very depressing picture. One gets a feeling as if there was no government in Goa during those 12 years. The resolution of 5 to 10 metres is so good that inaction, malpractices and corruption by various government departments, panchayats and municipalities can be easily proven with the factual spatio-temporal evidence of local land use changes.
Since the economic stakes involved in Goa’s remaining land aimed for planning are astronomically high (as per present market value Rs 5 to 15 lakh crore, excluding agricultural land) there are many role-players pulling the strings behind the scene away from public guess. Regime change doesn’t matter to them at all. It was former Chief Town Planner, late R N Ray who had urged me in every seminar and workshop in which we met to help him in producing a good RP-2011. By 1995, Mr Ray knew that the RP-2001 would be obsolete soon and there was need to prepare a new RP-2011.
After the Pratapsingh Rane-led government contracted the work of preparing a new RP to Consulting Engineering Services (CES), New Delhi in 1995-96, I began to study and scrutinise their exercise. The present director general (DG) of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI) Ramakant Kamat encouraged me to study the draft RP-2011 and give suggestions. CTP Mr Ray was prompt enough in 1998 to send me his own spare copy of Draft RP-2011 and Draft Sectoral Plan (DSR) for RP-2011. TCP department had organised a technical convention on October 9, 1998 at Yatri Niwas, Miramar, on New Regional Plan and Model Town and Country Planning Act in which I had expressed my critical views on RP-2011.
The TCP department had drafted and circulated the model act which was based on the requirements of 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments. To quote the then chief town planner, late R N Ray – “The government of India vide the constitution amendment act, 1996, namely, the 73rd and 74th amendments provides for planning at grassroots level with vast powers vested in the local bodies of panchayats and municipalities throughout the country. The model town and country planning act has been formulated by the Institute of Town planners, India and some states have already incorporated the provisions of this act in their respective legislation. The planning process is likely to undergo drastic changes in the future and hence it is imperative that steps in the right direction are taken before the implementation of the revised act in the state.
“This was published in the TCP publication, Goa beyond 2000 on page 35. On December 21, 2006, the Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik had telephonically solicited my views from New Delhi on the Regional Plan-2011 (RP) imbroglio obviously to brief the Congress high command which had become sensitive in view of approaching assembly elections in 2007 to upwelling of public unrest orchestrated on RP-2011 and SEZ. I emailed him the following details – “I am attaching a statement which the church authorities had submitted last year opposing the plan. The TCP department did not care to answer their queries. Then the details of RP-2011 AD were out in August 2006 which showed unrealistic land conversions and many mega projects. Church has also opposed the final RP-2011 approved by TCP board in August 2006. Serious interpolations were made during July 2002 to September 2003. The basic objections to RP-2011 are regarding the land use plan given in Chapter 17 of the final report-and the very process used to prepare this plan. Almost 7000 hectares land is identified for conversion and privatization. This includes green belts, forests, hill slopes, khazan lands etc.
Unlike previous plan this time there were no presentations at gram sabha level and no special meetings of gram sabhas were held. The previous regional plan was a departmental job however; the new plan was prepared almost single-handedly by G Mitra of Consulting Engineering Services, New Delhi, during 1999 to September 2003. They were paid Rs 12 lakh by Goa government. I have explained my opinion in two of my articles published in The Navhind times (November 6, December 18, 2006), from which you may get an idea about the reasons for opposition to the plan. Congress party high command needs to take the issue of non-devolution of planning powers to local authorities very seriously”. (to be continued).
http://www.navhindtimes.in/why-regional-plan-is-regional-pain-iv/
BEFORE even looking at the old disbanded RP-2011 or new RP-2021 still in news, anyone having access to the free Google Earth (GE) satellite imagery-based application may use its historical image tool from the menu bar and compare and contrast the changing landscape of Goa from 2003 to 2015. Every village panchayat and municipal council should use it.The government had purchased 200 netbooks for the talathis. They can use the netbooks to see for themselves whether the land use changes in their reporting areas comply with revenue code and tenancy act. The collectors have failed to enforce the land revenue code, 1968 and tenancy act 1964 and rules effectively, probably because they are overloaded with other works.
But people expect the collectors of both the districts to take a ‘suo moto’ padyatra every week to see how they are responsible for not using the powers given to them by Constitution of India. By their inaction as seen from Google Earth and supporting evidence in field, they have allegedly permitted Goa’s land resources to be abused. They won’t believe what they would see in ‘padyatra’ outside Panaji, Margao, Ponda, Vasco, Bicholim, Canacona and Mapusa. The highways authority of PWD can see for itself how setback areas within control line of state and national highways have been taken over by thousands of unauthorised encroachments.
PWD is fully responsible for this roadside mess created all over Goa due to its total failure to implement sections 7 to 25 and penalty sections 55 to 59 of The Goa, Daman and Diu Highways Act 1974 and Rules 1976. RP-2021 has absolutely no provision to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Whoever looks at Goa’s landscape transformation from 2003 to 2015 on Google Earth would be shocked. It is a very depressing picture. One gets a feeling as if there was no government in Goa during those 12 years. The resolution of 5 to 10 metres is so good that inaction, malpractices and corruption by various government departments, panchayats and municipalities can be easily proven with the factual spatio-temporal evidence of local land use changes.
Since the economic stakes involved in Goa’s remaining land aimed for planning are astronomically high (as per present market value Rs 5 to 15 lakh crore, excluding agricultural land) there are many role-players pulling the strings behind the scene away from public guess. Regime change doesn’t matter to them at all. It was former Chief Town Planner, late R N Ray who had urged me in every seminar and workshop in which we met to help him in producing a good RP-2011. By 1995, Mr Ray knew that the RP-2001 would be obsolete soon and there was need to prepare a new RP-2011.
After the Pratapsingh Rane-led government contracted the work of preparing a new RP to Consulting Engineering Services (CES), New Delhi in 1995-96, I began to study and scrutinise their exercise. The present director general (DG) of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI) Ramakant Kamat encouraged me to study the draft RP-2011 and give suggestions. CTP Mr Ray was prompt enough in 1998 to send me his own spare copy of Draft RP-2011 and Draft Sectoral Plan (DSR) for RP-2011. TCP department had organised a technical convention on October 9, 1998 at Yatri Niwas, Miramar, on New Regional Plan and Model Town and Country Planning Act in which I had expressed my critical views on RP-2011.
The TCP department had drafted and circulated the model act which was based on the requirements of 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments. To quote the then chief town planner, late R N Ray – “The government of India vide the constitution amendment act, 1996, namely, the 73rd and 74th amendments provides for planning at grassroots level with vast powers vested in the local bodies of panchayats and municipalities throughout the country. The model town and country planning act has been formulated by the Institute of Town planners, India and some states have already incorporated the provisions of this act in their respective legislation. The planning process is likely to undergo drastic changes in the future and hence it is imperative that steps in the right direction are taken before the implementation of the revised act in the state.
“This was published in the TCP publication, Goa beyond 2000 on page 35. On December 21, 2006, the Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik had telephonically solicited my views from New Delhi on the Regional Plan-2011 (RP) imbroglio obviously to brief the Congress high command which had become sensitive in view of approaching assembly elections in 2007 to upwelling of public unrest orchestrated on RP-2011 and SEZ. I emailed him the following details – “I am attaching a statement which the church authorities had submitted last year opposing the plan. The TCP department did not care to answer their queries. Then the details of RP-2011 AD were out in August 2006 which showed unrealistic land conversions and many mega projects. Church has also opposed the final RP-2011 approved by TCP board in August 2006. Serious interpolations were made during July 2002 to September 2003. The basic objections to RP-2011 are regarding the land use plan given in Chapter 17 of the final report-and the very process used to prepare this plan. Almost 7000 hectares land is identified for conversion and privatization. This includes green belts, forests, hill slopes, khazan lands etc.
Unlike previous plan this time there were no presentations at gram sabha level and no special meetings of gram sabhas were held. The previous regional plan was a departmental job however; the new plan was prepared almost single-handedly by G Mitra of Consulting Engineering Services, New Delhi, during 1999 to September 2003. They were paid Rs 12 lakh by Goa government. I have explained my opinion in two of my articles published in The Navhind times (November 6, December 18, 2006), from which you may get an idea about the reasons for opposition to the plan. Congress party high command needs to take the issue of non-devolution of planning powers to local authorities very seriously”. (to be continued).
http://www.navhindtimes.in/why-regional-plan-is-regional-pain-iv/
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