Goa govt declares area around Zuari Industrial Estate as no-development zone

PANAJI: (May 18) The Goa Town and Country Planning (TCP) Board on Monday decided to designate the area surrounding the Zuari Industrial Estate as a no-development zone (NDZ) in a major step towards conservation in the coastal state.

Speaking to reporters, Town and Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane said that the Supreme Court had stayed an earlier recommendation to unreserve 554 survey numbers around the industrial estate near Vasco town as private forest land, prompting the board to classify the entire expanse as an NDZ to ensure its long-term conservation.

He said that the state forest department had filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court that the area would continue to be a private forest.