63,500sqm land to be converted into settlement in Goa

Panaji: The town and country planning (TCP) department proposed the conversion of more than 63,500 sqm of land across Bardez, Salcete, Tiswadi and Mormugao under the Section 39A notifications, with Bardez accounting for the bulk of the land earmarked for settlement zone conversion.

The latest round of proposals continues the recent trend of “correcting” the Regional Plan 2021 through the Section 39A mechanism. This will see cultivable land, natural cover, orchard land and no-development-slope areas being changed into settlement zones, a process that has been challenged in court.

The proposals were approved by the TCP Board in its 232nd meeting held on May 4, with a 30-day window kept open for public objections and suggestions.

The single largest proposal pertains to Tivim in Bardez, where Green First Estates Pvt Ltd sought conversion of 52,858 sqm of land from cultivable land with irrigation command area into settlement zone. The total property measures 2.63 lakh sqm and also includes institutional and playground zones. The TCP board recommended the conversion subject to comments from the water resources department.

Another major proposal concerns Socorro in Bardez, where Sun Hospitality and Service Apartments Pvt Ltd sought conversion of two adjoining plots measuring a total of 6,010 sqm from natural cover to settlement zone. The proposals are subject to comments from the forest department.

At Old Goa in Tiswadi, over 2,150 sqm classified as institutional zone has been proposed for conversion into settlement zone.

In Salcete, multiple smaller proposals were approved in Varca, Curtorim, Colva and Ambelim. These include conversion of orchard land and natural cover areas into settlement zones. At Colva, a 1,058 sqm orchard plot has been recommended for conversion despite being affected by an existing road alignment.

The notification also includes proposals involving ecologically sensitive classifications. At Salvador-do-Mundo in Bardez, 225 sqm classified as natural cover with no-development slope has been recommended for settlement conversion subject to forest department comments. A similar proposal at Cortalim in Mormugao seeks conversion of orchard land with no-development slope into settlement zone.

The latest notification adds to the steady stream of Section 39A proposals issued by the TCP department in recent weeks, many of which involve land categories originally marked as environmentally sensitive or agriculturally protected in the Regional Plan for Goa 2021.