Panaji 19TH JANUARY : The town and country planning department has notified the proposed inclusion of Calangute and Candolim villages under North Goa planning and development authority (NGPDA) even as local residents are gearing up to oppose the move. The notification dated January 8, 2015, was notified in the official gazette dated January 15, 2015, wherein the limits of the proposed planning area of two villages have been declared.
As per the notification, the limits are from Baga creek to borders of Arpora-Nagoa panchayat in the north, Arabian Sea in the west, River Mandovi in the south and Saligao, Pilerne-Marra and Nerul in the west. The villagers have raised a banner of protest against the move, stating that the decision smacks of vested interest. The gram sabha members had opposed the decision recently and even the Congress has backed the villagers in launching an agitation to ensure reversal of the inclusion in PDA. Panchayat leaders have alleged that now the local bodies will not be taken into confidence in any planning exercise.
“It is not a democratic decision to include only two villages of Calangute and Candolim under PDA and all coastal villages of Goa should be included, if the government is serious about planning in these areas,” Fermino Fernandes, a Candolim panchayat member said. The villagers are planning to chart out the future course of action, including the launch of an agitation and approaching courts of law, sources said.
