Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: In a significant admission during the Assembly session, Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho acknowledged that village panchayats in Goa lack the mechanism to assess carrying capacity—a critical tool needed to regulate development in the state’s rapidly urbanising villages. He further revealed that neither the Panchayat Department nor the Town and Country Planning Department (TCP) has carried out any such studies so far.
The issue came under sharp focus after Congress MLA Carlos Alvares Ferreira demanded urgent steps to assess how much infrastructure pressure Goa’s villages can bear before approving large-scale housing or commercial projects. “The government must stop issuing NOCs through panchayats until carrying capacity is scientifically studied. Villages are being pushed beyond limits,” Ferreira warned.
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao also questioned whether the government would engage expert agencies and research institutes to conduct these studies. “Without knowing the thresholds of each village, we are approving development blindly. This is dangerous,” Alemao said.
Minister Mauvin Godinho responded saying, “We want development, but how much we allow has to be seen. If carrying capacity studies will help, I will move a note and involve other departments to undertake it for every village panchayat in the state.”
He clarified that panchayats only issue licences, while final approvals are granted by planning bodies like the TCP and PDAs. “The real grassroots forum is the Gram Sabha, where objections are raised. Don’t blame village panchayats—they have a limited role and yet they perform it,” he said.
Godinho’s statement that no department has undertaken carrying capacity studies so far triggered further concern in the House. GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai backed the demand, warning that without such scientific assessments, Goa’s villages risk irreversible damage.
