Goa, June 3 -- As per the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, 1974, as amended to date, Planning and Development Authorities have to prepare an existing land use map for the planning areas under their jurisdiction. However, this provision is not implemented in letter and spirit. Further, there is no such corresponding requirement for those areas which are not declared as planning areas. It is useful to have a land use map drawn up even for non planning areas, because it provides a useful baseline for planning. It can ensure that the uses that the land has been traditionally put to are duly documented and people's uses of land are recognised.
Sometime in 1993, the Tourism Department of the Goa Government was proposing to acquire 6.40 lakh sq...