News Articles
GBA pressurising Task Force to censure amendment to T&C Act
NT Staff Reporter
Panaji, April 4 The confusion and anger over the amendment to the Town and Country Act seems to be escalating with highly placed Goa Bachao Abhiyan sources saying that the front is applying pressure on the Task Force to condemn the same publicly. Sources say that internally the
dissent has already been put on record. Also the fact that the minutes of the meetings of the Task Force which began its work at the end of October and has had 12 meetings since, has not been circulated has been creating disquiet in the minds of the GBA constituents, say sources.
They also point out that though GBA members, Ms Patricia Pinto and architect, Ms Ritu Prasad have been attending the meetings of the Task Force, their names have still not appeared on the list of members, which they feel is a very bad precedent. They say that they should either be made members or they should not be allowed to sit for the meetings. It may be recalled that the GBA had demanded that the government immediately withdraw or amend‚ the said Bill and to clearly define what is meant by public projects/ schemes/ development works undertaken by it and if this is not done it will send out a wrong signal to the people of Goa that while the government has promised a well studied, participative and transparent Regional Plan for Goa through the Task Force, its intentions in fact are otherwise and added that it expects an early response from the government in this regard. It also wanted a clarification about the words public
projects/schemes/development works, undertaken by the central or the state government" as they have not been clearly defined in the Bill and could very well go beyond what is meant by public projects like roads, bridges etc. It argued, The recent case of the Goa Industrial Development Corporation seeking to acquire private land in Cuncolim at the request of the M/s Vigneshwara Developwell Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, ostensibly in public Interest" for IT/ITeS and other technology based industry with Ëœwork, live, shop and play concept" is a case in point which is most relevant in light of the said Bill.
