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Facing flak, Goa minister Vishwajit Rane scraps controversial zoning amendments
Goa minister Vishwajit Rane said he had no personal agenda or selfish motive behind change in Goa’s zoning code
PANAJI: Goa town and country planning minister Vishwajit Rane on Monday said that he will scrap the current amendments to the Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations until they are deliberated upon afresh “by taking all stakeholders into consideration”.
Rane said that he will send the amendments back to the drawing board and ask a committee to deliberate afresh this time by taking stakeholders -- activists, opposition political parties and others -- into confidence before attempting to bring the amendments back.
“All the amendments are being scrapped with immediate effect. The expert committee will deliberate with stakeholders once again on the same amendments. They will be brought back before the TCP board and deliberated and then the process will be taken forward,” Rane said.
“I don’t understand why there should be a controversy when I have no selfish interest in any of this. I have no personal agenda in this,” he said.
Rane was facing mounting protests over his plans to introduce changes to the Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations, also referred to as the zoning code, which governs what kind of ‘development’ is allowed on lands zoned as settlement, industrial, agricultural.
The proposed amendments, among other things included plans to allow golf courses, film cities, race courses, motorsport tracks on agricultural and orchard lands and ‘natural’ zones.
September 27 was to be the final date to submit objections to the proposed plan, and the department is reported to have received a barrage of objections to the plans.
Environmental groups had also a conflict of interest especially since the Rane family is among the largest owners of agricultural and orchard land in Goa.
