*Goa Bachao Abhiyan* C/o 77, Defence Colony, Alto Porvorim-Goa
goabachaoabhi...@gmail.com *20th April 2016* Our Government continues to prepare a new Regional Plan with disregard for scientific planning through criteria, even as drought ridden Maharashtra serves as a glaring example of poor land use policies and corrupt self serving interests. With no scientific data or criteria for inputs, the TCP minister keeps making statements as per the daily whim. The RP2021 already has an excessive increase of settlement of upto 30% over the old RP2001. With Goa's falling birthrate it is a mockery to arbitrarily keep increasing settlement cover for vested interests. This 'development' is clearly not for Goans. *UNCONSTITUTIONAL IPB PROJECTS SHOULD NOT BE PLACED WITHOUT ENVIRONMENT AUDIT* All manner of projects passed by the unconstitutional Investment Promotion Board Act are being included in the 'new plan' despite peoples protests against this. Run by ministers and industrialists for ministers and industrialists, this has overridden the Acts own criteria, including environmentally damaging 'Red category' industries in Sanguem to further pollute our rivers, and violating CRZ rules in numerous cases. *SLC MEMBERS REPRESENT GLARING CONFLICT OF INTEREST* The composition of the State Level Steering Committee is purely one-sided highlighting conflict of interest, comprising mainly of Government officials and the odd architect. The committee has little credibility if due representation is not given to stakeholders with skill and integrity. Planning is not only about construction. During the making of the last plan, changes were not only sought by ministers, small incentives to the last drafts person to touch the plan sometimes included a few hundred sqm here and there which was difficult to catch unless strict procedures for sign off was followed. With such an understaffed and skewed committee, we have little hope of anything called planning. *PIMPING OF GOA - A PRE ELECTION OCCUPATION* Worse still, is Goa's most public secret, with brokers allegedly citing a price of Rs. 3,500/- per sqm of land use change. Despite the fraudulent RP2011 allegedly peddled at Rs. 200/- per sqm 11 years ago, in places as far off as Dubai, it is shocking that the present government still assumes this kind of bartering can be forever be tolerated by the public as planning. All too many land owners have been approached peddling such offers and we call on our TCP minister to explain this behavior to the public, including what measures exactly, will be taken to prevent selling the plan piecemeal. We call on all the people to rise against this ugliest form of corruption, as the loss of green cover, water and air quality will be irreversible. The GBA has sought an appointment with the TCP minister, and calls on this government to desist from using the Regional Plan as a tool for corruption, and come clean on its intentions immediately. Sabina Martins - Convenor Reboni Saha - Secretary