No construction scope near Old Goa heritage site: Rane

Panaji: Town and country planning (TCP) minister Vishwajit Rane announced the establishment of a 200-metre buffer zone around the Unesco-listed heritage site of Old Goa. “The buffer zone has already been mapped and notified in the Regional Plan,” he said.
“The TCP never gave any construction permissions in this buffer zone. If the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) or any other competent authority gives permission for a govt project, that is a different matter. But for private entities, there is no scope for construction. These are conservation areas, and we must follow due procedure.”
He further said that any development activity in these zones must obtain approvals from the ASI and other regulatory bodies. He also shared plans to have a heritage facilitation centre to boost tourism. The new directives come amid growing concerns over unregulated construction and environmental degradation in Goa’s heritage and ecological zones of the village.
“There is a buffer zone notified by me for the protection of the heritage sites. What needs to be done within it, only the ASI can decide,” Rane said.
Alongside heritage preservation, the TCP minister also said that state govt identified 3,557 survey numbers across Goa where mangroves are to be protected, and the data is being compiled. The final plan, he said, will be submitted to Union environment minister Bhupendra Yadav.
“Mangroves and salt pans—both active and inactive—will be declared conservation zones. We are going to take many new green initiatives in the coming days, and we will do it judiciously, with active public participation,” Rane added.