Panaji: The town and country planning department has approved the conversion of another 11,948sqm of land from orchard and natural cover to settlement zone under Section 39A of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, continuing a series of alterations to the Regional Plan for Goa 2021 notified over the past week.A notification issued by the town and country planning (TCP) department on June 24 grants final approval to five proposals spread across Pernem, Canacona and Bardez. Two of the approvals involve the conversion of natural cover into a settlement zone, while the remaining three convert orchard land into settlement.The largest approvals relate to two adjoining plots in Marra village, Bardez. Vivienda Buildtech LLP has been permitted to convert 3,634sqm of natural cover into a settlement zone, while Black Swan Developers LLP has secured approval for the conversion of another 3,340sqm from natural cover to a settlement. In both cases, the notification stipulates that secondary development will be permitted only after obtaining a no-objection certificate from the forest cepartment.The remaining approvals include conversion of 4,067sqm of orchard land at Morjim in Pernem belonging to Gangareddy Infra Pvt Ltd, 559sqm of orchard land at Poinguinim in Canacona, and 348sqm of orchard land at Aldona into settlement zones.Together, the five proposals account for 11,948sqm of land being brought under settlement zoning, of which 6,974sqm comprises natural cover and 4,974sqm comprises orchard land.The latest approvals follow another govt notification issued last week approving eight Section 39A proposals covering about 18,800sqm of land for conversion to settlement. Those proposals included changes involving natural cover, orchards, paddy fields and irrigation command areas in Assagao, Siolim, Marra, Aldona, Morjim, Pilerne and Quepem. Several of those approvals were also made subject to clearances from the forest, agriculture and water resources departments.Separately, the TCP department has also issued a notification proposing the conversion of 1.04 cr sqm of mangroves, khazan lands, paddy fields and ponds to non-developable area. The seven proposals that were cleared were all from Salcete.Unlike the settlement conversions, those notifications impose additional development restrictions on already protected lands.As with recent Section 39A notifications, the TCP department has clarified that the alterations to the Regional Plan will remain subject to the outcome of the PIL Writ Petition Nos. 53 of 2024 and 54 of 2024, which are pending before the Bombay High Court at Goa.
