PANAJI: The town and country planning (TCP) department has approved seven proposals for change of zone in the Regional Plan for Goa – 2021 and the Outline Development Plan of Calangute, Candolim Planning Area – 2025, which will affect 2 lakh sqm in Goa.
The approvals give the green light for Inorbit Malls India, a subsidiary of K Raheja Corporation, to go ahead with the conversion of orchard land, which includes a heritage trail running through Panelim village adjacent to Old Goa.
Inorbit Malls operates shopping malls in Mumbai, Vadodara, and Cyberabad but is now expanding to Tier II cities. Inorbit Malls India received approval for the conversion of 23,497 sqm of orchard land and natural cover.
The TCP deparment recommended the change of zone subject to a report from the state forest department and as long as Inorbit Malls maintains the heritage trail that passes through the property.
While most of the plots that received permission for change of zone under Section 39A of the TCP Act are small, approval for 1,68,800sqm at Pernem, which requires the forest department’s clearance, will raise eyebrows.
Natwarlal Shamji Gohil sought the conversion of the 1.7 lakh sqm of land at Corgao, Pernem. The plot of land, which is currently classified as partly orchard and partly natural cover, will now be classified as settlement.
All the plots that have been granted approval are currently classified as orchard land, cultivable land, irrigation command area, no development slope and natural cover. “The TCP department, after scrutinising the proposals, placed them, along with their scrutiny reports, before the board for a decision,” said chief town planner Rajesh Naik.
The TCP department recommended the change of zone from orchard land with NDZ to settlement, paving the way for private residential projects to come up. Naik, in a notification announcing the board’s decision, said stakeholders have 30 days to submit in writing suggestions or concerns about the approvals.
