Goa's town planning department gives 20 days to regularise illegal structures

The state government on Saturday has given just 20 days’ notice to those who purchased and developed plots in non-settlement areas to apply for change of zone under Section 16B of the amended Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act. The notification warns that failure to do so could lead to criminal proceedings, said the TCP department. However, with January 26 being a government holiday and if one takes into account the weekends, applications have just over a fortnight to apply for change of zone. The TCP department said that it has completed a survey and identified illegal development in orchard land, indicating that defaulters will not be able to slip below the radar.