Goa Forward Party has written to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in France saying that heightened development around Old Goa could put historical monuments that dot the village.
Party president Vijai Sardesai, who wrote the letter on behalf of GFP, informed the international organisations that the state government plans to bring Old Goa under the Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority jurisdiction.
“This is a brazen act of poaching and encroachment of boundaries determined by the UNESCO in 1986. Under these new provisions, the government of Goa could allow building height to reach 30 meters in various commercial zones as against the current 9-meter height restriction,” said Sardesai.
On November 20, town and country planning (TCP) minister Chandrakant Kavlekar announced that the TCP board had agreed to extend the area of the Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority beyond Kadamba Plateau to Old Goa.
GFP has already called on the government to immediately withdraw the decision before the feast day of St. Francis Xavier, which is celebrated on December 3. Sardesai said he feels that the state government may ignore the demand and move ahead with the development of high-rise structures close to the UNESCO sites.
Sardesai said, “The future of our beloved Old Goa faces the risk of heightened development as a result of administrative policies determined by the government of Goa,”.
Old Goa is home to several 15th-century monuments including the Basilica of Bom Jesus, Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Se Cathedral, Church of Saint Cajetao, and Church of Saint Augustine. Besides being historical monuments, the sites are also symbols of faith for Catholics.
