PANAJI
Introduction of Sec 39A of TCP Act for facilitating zone changes
The hurried introduction of Section 39A in the Town and Country Planning Act -- aimed at facilitating the changing of zones of land parcels in the Regional Plan and/or the Outline Development Plan, except in a few cases like eco-sensitive land -- is currently facing a judicial battle. The new law, introduced in February, has been challenged in the High Court.
The amendment to the TCP Act, introduced during the Winter Session, also omitted controversial section 16 B of the TCP Act.
Using the amended act land owners can apply for change of zone. Chief Town Planner (Planning) upon direction of the Government or on receipt of an application in this regard and with approval of the Board, may, from time to time, alter or modify the Regional Plan after giving notice of 30 days, inviting suggestions from the public.
The amendment was passed by the Legislative Assembly of Goa on Feb 7 and assented to by the Governor of Goa on Feb 21. Several lakh square metres of land have already been altered or changed so far.
Activists have alleged that the amendment allows a backdoor entry for conversion of ecologically fragile land for private and business interests.
TCP bill overriding court judgments on land conversions withdrawn
Introduced during the Monsoon Session in August, the TCP amendment Bill aimed to nullify any court verdict that is against the land conversions under the ODPs- was withdrawn within 48 hours of tabling it in the House.
Goa Town and Country Planning (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024 was withdrawn by Minister Vishwajit Rane, following disagreements within the cabinet over the objective of the bill.
The Bill aimed "to protect the TCP against judicial scrutiny of land conversions under the ODPs and take powers of planning and development authorities (PDAs) in case the ODPs are withdrawn". While withdrawing the Bill, Rane had blamed the Law Department for adding a ‘validation’ clause, which the department had later denied.
The withdrawal of the Bill had sparked much political debate, with even Chief Minister Pramod Sawant saying that the Bill was done in a “hurry” and “not drafted properly”.
Once the act is amended, the bill said, no suit or any other proceedings “shall lie or be maintained or continued in any court challenging such approvals or certificates or reports”.
The bill added, “Anything done or any action taken or purported to have been done or taken, under or for the purposes of the principal act on the basis of the said ODP or regional plan, as the case may be, shall be deemed to have been validly done or taken in accordance with law as if the provisions of Section 19 of the principal act, as amended by this act, had been in force at all material times.”
Ordinance promulgated to validate Calangute-Candolim ODP
The government, in March, promulgated the Goa Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024 to validate the controversial and now-withdrawn Outline Development Plans (ODPs) for the coastal planning areas of Calangute-Candolim and Arpora-Parra-Nagoa.
The ordinance aimed to override the February order of the High Court of Bombay at Goa, which quashed the two ODPs on grounds of legal infirmities in the process of notifying the plans.
The ordinance, promulgated by the Governor, amends the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, 1974 to insert a provision that states that the ODPs shall remain legally valid even if an area is de-notified as a planning region. It further states that in the absence of an ODP, all development works must conform to the regional plan.
The ordinance also states that no legal challenges can be made to the approvals and all actions taken under the ODPs shall be deemed to have been done validly under law. Through this ordinance,
The Court, however, stayed the Ordinance, 2024, which was deemed to have come into force on Dec 16, 2022.
No Man’s Land brought under govt control
Against the backdrop of a series of land grab cases, the State government brought in Goa Escheats, Forfeiture and Bona Vacantia Act, 2024, to take over properties of persons who die without legal heirs or properties that have no rightful owner. The government is currently in the process of drafting the Rules and Criteria to take over properties. There are nearly 70 properties, which are under scrutiny of SIT.
The Act, which came into force in September, applies to all properties, which according to the Constitution, have vested or become vested or shall vest in government by escheat or lapse, or as bona vacantia, or which is forfeited or become forfeited or shall forfeit in government under the provisions of the act.
According to the Act, the competent authority is empowered to conduct an inquiry, to ascertain the information received that a person has died intestate and without any legal heirs. Upon ascertaining, should issue public notice calling upon people to make claims within a period of one year.
Rs 10k fine for skipping tenant verification
In view of increasing crime, involving migrants or non-Goans, the State government made tenant verification mandatory, thus tightening the noose around the landlords and tenants. From December 1, onwards, those skipping tenant verification, are being fined Rs 10K penalty.
The Goa (Verification of Tenants) Act, 2024, approved by the Cabinet in July and subsequently tabled during the monsoon session of the Legislative Assembly, came into force this month. In October, the government extended its tenant verification drive by about a week to identify residents living without proper documentation. The police across Goa have verified around 2 lakh tenants as part of the drive.
This legislative action gained urgency following the murder of OCI citizen Arnold Soares at his ancestral home in Candolim. The amendment, initially introduced in 2021, was referred to the Select Committee after the Opposition’s demand. The 2021 version of the Bill proposed a minimum of six months imprisonment.
Offshore casinos to move out of Mandovi by March 2027
This has been a decade-long issue, which has seen no headway. The State cabinet, earlier last week, resolved to grant a final extension to off-shore casino vessels till March 2027 to continue operating in River Mandovi, after which they will have to be relocated.
The then BJP-led government had taken a policy decision in 2013 to relocate the offshore casinos from River Mandovi. However, the failure to identify an alternative site forced the government to grant them a series of extensions to continue in the river since March, 2014.
Since, then, the government has been renewing the extensions granted to the off-shore casinos every six months. There are six offshore casinos operating in River Mandovi; namely MV Horseshoe Casino, MV Pride of Goa, MV Casino Royale, MV Argosy IV, MV Royale Flotel, and MV Lucky.
The successive governments in Goa have been under pressure to relocate the casinos off the Goa coast.
Way back in 2018-19, the state government through the home department along with the Captain of Ports (CoP) had tentatively identified four sites to relocate the offshore casinos, including the mouth of the Mandovi river near Aguada jail, another two alternative locations in Zuari river -- one to the east of the bridge and the other west of the bridge, and the last option being Chapora river.
Govt accepts 3rd Finance Commission Report
The much-awaited report of the Third State Finance Commission was submitted to the government on January 31 and the same was accepted by the State Cabinet on February 6.
The Commission has proposed an additional budget provision of Rs 50 crore per year to the local bodies with an annual increment of ten per cent annually to compensate the local bodies in lieu of revenue forgone due to the implementation of GST.
The Commission has recommended that additional budget provisions with annual rise should be from 2024-25 to 2028-29. It has also recommended the introduction of professional tax, which is one of the important sources of revenue for the local bodies.
The Commission has also recommended a climate change fund of Rs 10 crore per year to the weaker panchayats and Group C municipal authorities to take up pre-monsoon and post-monsoon works.
Power tariffs hiked
An average 3.5% increase in the cost of power was imposed by the Goa government from mid-June this year despite protests from the Opposition after it (the hike) had been approved by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC).
According to the JERC which issued a tariff order, the hike was "necessary" to reduce the electricity department's dependence on 'budgetary support' of the Goa government.
The electricity department, which is primarily engaged in purchasing power from the National grid and other open market sources before distributing and transmitting it through the State grid to end users (consumers) is on average being supported by the State government through the annual budget to the tune of Rs 300 to Rs 350 crores every year. The JERC in its tariff order has said it approved the hike to enable the department to bridge that gap.
The tariff hike entailed an increase in the per unit charge for power for most consumers -- low-tension and high-tension domestic consumers, commercial and industrial consumers and the low-tension mixed category consumers such as hotels, agriculture and others. However, the Military Engineering Services (MES) and other Defence establishments in the State have been spared the power tariff hike.
Safety gear upgrade after linesman's death in Bicholim
The death of Manoj Zambaulikar, a linesman in April, sent the policy and decision makers In the electricity department into a tizzy to upgrade the workplace safety protocols and equipment.
Zambaulikar died tragically when he was mounted on an electricity pole in Bicholim and there was a sudden surge in power despite a shutdown. The phenomenon which caused the power to surge in a line which had specifically been shut down was identified as the "backfield leakage" of power from an inverter of a nearby gym.
The incident nonetheless forced the top echelons at the department to raise the safety quotient for engineers and linesmen working on faults in the grid and kick-started a process to acquire smart helmets and wristbands designed to detect current flow.
The safety gadgets are designed by the Goa Engineering College (GEC) and modalities for mass-producing these devices for use by the department are in process. The devices are designed to beep if there is current anywhere in a radius of 1.5 metres around the person wearing them.
