MAPUSA
Goa’s popular coastal belt in the North is experiencing a churn.
Till now faint, voices against the Outline Development Plan (ODP) and Planning Development Authority (PDA) are growing louder and bolder along the Calangute-Candolim coastal belt.
First to revolt against the idea of the PDA was Deputy Sarpanch Rupa Chodankar who recently resigned from her post.
“When my people do not want ODP or the PDA why should I support it? I will remain with my people,” said Chodankar emphatically.
Chodankar was under pressure for quite some time due to her forceful views against the PDA and her resoluteness not to fall in line.
The campaign against the planning authority which was confined to social media is spilling in the open much to the distaste of those in power.
Concerned about the haphazard development in the coastal villages, the Centre for Responsible Tourism (CRT), an arm of the church, has begun to educate people on the pros and cons of the ODP and the PDA.
On Thursday, an awareness programme was held at the St Alex Church, Calangute with an aim to explain the intricacies of the ODP.
Calangute Citizens Forum’s Roshan Mathias gave a detailed presentation on the ODP and PDA to the gathering.
The villagers later demanded a special gram sabha to discuss the Calangute ODP in detail.
Opposing the PDA in Calangute, Parish Priest Fr Cypriano De Silva said Town and Country Planning department could very well handle the planning of the village.
“There is no need of PDA in villages especially in Calangute. Under PDA, the FAR
