PANAJI: The town and country planning (TCP) department has identified several instances where hills with steep gradients in the state have been converted to settlement areas so that plots could be created and sold, said TCP minister Vishwajit Rane.
The department, which is taking flak for the rampant hill cutting underway in the state, is working to revert the land use classification of such hills back to the original state that they were in.
“What was a steep hill has been converted, which we are now trying to revert. All slopes, which are beyond 25% gradient now we will zone them as no development areas. I have already taken a decision and we are going step-by-step,” Rane told TOI.
The Goa (Regulation of Land Development and Building Construction) regulations already prohibit construction from taking place in any areas having a gradient of more than 25%. The TCP is not supposed to issue construction licences, development permissions or technical clearances on slopes.
Rane said that the consultants appointed by the TCP in the past manipulated the Regional Plan 2021 and outline development plans. “I don’t even know if I can believe the report,” he said.
The minister said that he will consult local governing bodies and the MLA of the constituency before hills are classified as no development areas. “And if someone goes to touch the no development zone, there will be a hue and a cry,” he said.
Rane’s claims about classifying hills as no development slopes come at a time when state govt is facing intense scrutiny over the widespread destruction of hills for residential villas and high-rise buildings.
Data submitted to the state legislative assembly during the monsoon session shows that the TCP department received 179 applications for conversion of hill slopes to settlement zones. The TCP approved 45 of those applications, allowing 7,95,396sqm to be converted.
While Rane distanced himself from DLF’s Reis Magos project, he said that he is ready to initiate a probe into the permissions granted to Noida-based realty firm Bhutani Infra for the residential project at Sancoale. However, the minister added a rider, saying that he needs a written complaint first.
“Find out who sold that land and who gave permission for the Sancoale project. Nobody has given me ‘pushpanjali’ to give approval for the project. I have told Cortalim MLA Anton Vas to give us a written representation which I can put before the board and initiate an inquiry. I have no problem in doing that. I have no interests in Bhutani,” said Rane.
