Ever since taking over as the Chief Minister of Goa, he has been under fire for land conversion. TCP Minister. But Vishwajeet Rane believes it’s all an “assumption” that comes with a “sensitive” portfolio. Team TOIHe tries to answer these accusations and explains why he believes the planning process must change. Edited excerpts from Townhall Vid times of India
There are allegations that large-scale land conversion is taking place in Goa during your tenure. How true is this?
This is a perception that has been building up over time and this perception has always been against the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department, which is a very sensitive department. If you look at the past, there was always a provision for case-by-case conversion. When regional planning 2021 was made, 9.5 crore sqm was converted and thousands of sqm were turned into paddy fields, no-development zones and many other things. I saw how arbitrarily the Regional Plan (RP) was made and some imbalance was created. Then Section 16-B was inserted in the Town and Country Planning Act and 7,500 provisional letters were issued.
After taking over the department, I realised that everything was stuck because there were some court orders that needed to be respected. Some people came to invest in Goa and got stuck. There were guidelines but those guidelines were violated. So, new rules were needed. And as a result, we decided to bring in more laws to raise the voice of the people, because there was no provision for any rectification. Section 17(2) of the TCP Act has benefited a lot of people – some people’s lands were originally settlement areas that were converted into paddy fields and orchards and put into different zones. They are able to rectify the classification.
Before I became TCP minister, 15 million sqm was converted and in a typical ODP, over 3 million sqm was converted. But the perception is that we are doing conversions.
With Vishwajit Rane being the TCP minister, a notion of mass conversion is being created
But the fear is that the character of Goa is changing due to big projects.
The change in the character of Goa may happen in someone’s mind, not in my mind.
Many people consider Goa as their second home. People want to build residential schools. People want to do different activities. Today, you have Mopa airport, you have All India Institute of Ayurveda… and all these are in Pernem taluka, which is the fastest growing taluka in the state. People want to invest in this taluka.
Today we don’t have a golf course. Goa is such a tourist destination and if you go to any other tourist destination, there will be not one but five-six golf courses. Japanese tourists prefer places that have golf courses. Don’t you think Goa should have a golf course?
Isn’t development benefiting non-Goans more than Goans?
It is a misconception that only people coming from outside are getting all the benefits. There are people within the state as well who take advantage. People from Sanquelim or Bicholim also want to live better and want to live in a better way. People want better facilities. My priority here is to see that we can make such rules and change the overall dynamics so that people can have a better life.
Who comes and who doesn’t, whether they are from Goa or from outside Goa, is not my concern. My only obligation is to address their issue and provide them whatever relief they need from the department while following all the rules and regulations. A lot of checks and balances are in place. Before I became the TCP minister, there were several ministers. In my tenure, I have ensured that everything is resolved.
Planning is one of its main functions. TCP Department And yet this is one aspect that is missing today. The Regional Plan 2021 is way past its deadline.
The role of the department must be redefined. The thought process of regional planning is outdated. Its time has passed.
Regional planning is outdated, zoning planning is the way forward
Why do you think the regional planning process has become outdated?
It is outdated because we have very sensitive people in Goa. The scale at which you have to bring out a zonal plan, it is going to be a very big exercise. It is not going to be completed in a given time and as a result we amended the law and introduced the concept of zoning plan. We said we will go taluka-wise. We found that there were some problems in the RP and we said the zoning plan should not have those problems. We still need to keep 2021 as the base plan, but a zonal plan is a very difficult exercise in today’s times. If I had brought out a zonal plan, the scale of land use change would have been much higher, and people would have played the perception game again. They would have said Vishwajit Rane has brought out a zonal plan which is double the old plan and there would have been an uproar. So, the best thing to do is to address it judiciously.
What is the way forward for the state?
It is difficult to implement any plan in Goa. Zoning plan is the way forward. But I was not able to communicate properly earlier. If we want a zoning plan, we have to first sit with the panchayats, discuss with them and send the plan to them and then after taking their opinion we can inform them. There is no problem in exploring this process. We need a plan… We have to reverse the process, otherwise nothing will happen.
Uncontrolled hill cutting has finally attracted the attention of the government, and questions are being raised about the role of the TCP Department.
I became the TCP minister and suddenly you see hill cutting being highlighted to such an extent that everyone blames the TCP. This surprises me because the concerned departments should have taken action. All the hill cutting that has happened in the state has no permission from the TCP. My department has not given any permission and neither do we intend to give permission. I have stopped giving permission and even considering applications until the soil stabilisation report and other requirements are completed. Maybe because Vishwajit Rane has this portfolio, an impression is being created. Or someone else wants to keep it (TCP portfolio) with themselves.
Are you saying that disagreement is a challenge?
Sometimes you will find people saying my heart cries for Goa, but that man will have a 110-room house. It will be a 5-star resort. There will always be dissenting voices, but the government has to be sure of what it wants to do. I should be sure about what I want to do. When my father (Pratapsinh Rane) was the chief minister, he came up with three regional plans and at that time you could talk. One man could take decisions. Departments could work independently. Today, there are limitations, and you cannot do everything on your own. There are many kinds of pressures that you have to deal with. There are some people, who may try to provoke, or you may have an opponent, who tries to combine forces and then tries to create miscommunication. Then what happens is that people who apparently want to save Goa have saved Goa. This is part of life.
