Goa, Nov. 15 -- The Save Old Goa Action Committee has issued a strong objection to the proposed construction of a new police station at the site of the existing Old Goa Police Station, arguing that the project falls squarely within the buffer zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site surrounding the Basilica of Bom Jesus. In a letter, the group has urged the Se Old Goa Village Panchayat to immediately withhold all permissions for the project.

The committee maintained that no new concrete structures-legal or illegal-should be permitted within the protected zone until a comprehensive Master Plan for the World Heritage Site is prepared in consultation with all stakeholders. These, it said, must include the Church (as owner of the Basilica), th...