PANAJI
A broad coalition of villagers, citizens, environmental groups and opposition leaders under the banner 'Enough Is Enough' on Friday staged a massive protest outside the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department in Panaji, issuing a 15-day ultimatum to the Goa government to repeal the controversial Sections 39A and 17(2) of the TCP Act, alleging that the provisions were facilitating large-scale land conversions and threatening Goa's ecological balance.
The protesters warned that if the government failed to withdraw the provisions within the stipulated period, the movement would intensify its agitation, including launching a Gandhian-style non-cooperation movement through panchayats and municipalities by urging local bodies to refuse processing files and licences linked to Section 39A.
The protest came even as TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane defended Section 39A, describing it as a "landmark" conservation measure that permanently safeguards ecologically sensitive land from indiscriminate conversion.
"Gone are the days when any kind of land could be converted by the TCP. Section 39A is a saviour and protector of land. It will protect these areas for posterity," Rane said in a statement issued amid the demonstration.
The Minister maintained that the TCP Department and Forest Department were working together to protect Goa's ecologically fragile landscapes while preventing indiscriminate land conversion.
On the other hand, addressing the gathering, movement spokesperson Devidas Amonkar said the agitation was aimed at protecting Goa's land, environment and identity. He alleged that despite submitting a 10-point charter of demands to the Prime Minister, the President and the State government, no corrective action had been taken.
"Despite our demand to cancel Section 39A, the government continues to pass two to three conversion orders every week through the official gazette," Amonkar alleged.
Another spokesperson, Govind Shirodkar accused the government of sacrificing agricultural land and villages in the name of development.
Targeting Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane, Shirodkar questioned the government's land policies and referred to the proposed Karapur project, alleging that construction activity over nearly 5.5 lakh square metres was threatening villages and agricultural landscapes.
Environmentalist Claude Alvares said the Regional Plan 2021 belonged to every Goan and could not be altered without public participation. Drawing parallels with the government's earlier withdrawal of Section 16B of the TCP Act following public opposition, he urged the government to similarly repeal Section 39A.
"If 39A is not cancelled, the entire TCP Department and Cabinet will be held responsible," Alvares said, proposing a Gandhian non-cooperation movement under which panchayats and municipalities would refuse to process applications linked to the provision.
Reading out a memorandum submitted to the Chief Town Planner, Enough Is Enough spokesperson Swapnesh Sherlekar demanded the immediate repeal of Section 39A and suspension of all notifications issued under the provision until the constitutional challenge pending before the High Court is decided.
Sherlekar alleged that Section 39A enabled individual landowners to bypass the statutory Regional Plan by seeking plot-wise zoning changes, including conversion of eco-sensitive zones into settlement areas. He claimed that recommendations had been made for conversion of nearly 5 lakh square metres of ecologically sensitive land, while 279 recommendations had already been finalised despite objections from local communities. According to him, around 30.27 lakh square metres of land, including No Development Zones, slopes and fallow agricultural land, had already been converted under the provision.
Former bureaucrat and environmentalist Elvis Gomes also appealed to elected representatives in panchayats and municipalities to refuse approvals linked to Section 39A, saying such collective action would make implementation of the provision impossible.
Congress Goa president Girish Chodankar, Congress MLA Carlos Alvares Ferreira, RGP MLA Viresh Borkar, AAP Goa chief Valmiki Naik and several civil society representatives participated in the protest.
