from daijiworld's special correspondent

Panaji, Jan 21: Asking the Goa Government to denotify the controversial Regional Plan 2011 with retrospective effect, a wing of the Goa church today said "any wrongdoing should be rectified at the roots".

"Fully convinced that any wrongdoing should be rectified at the roots, we along with the people demand that the government denotify the Regional Plan 2011 with retrospective effect," the Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP), an organ of Goa church, said in a statement here.

CSJP, social wing of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, has joined the growing chorus to denotify the regional plan, which had envisaged changes in rules to allow constructions in coastal areas, with retrospective effect.

The Government's stand to denotify the plan with retrospective effect had deepened the controversy with activists of Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA), which has been spearheading the stir against the plan, refusing to withdraw their agitation.

The activists are demanding that the plan, which they fear would rob the tourist state of its greenery and serenity, should be denotified from August 2006 when it was notified.

"As early as November 2006, the CSJP had sought from Town and Country Planning Department authorities relevant material to study the plan's draft," it said.

The CSJP then engaged services of a former chief urban planner of the Government of India, who studied the draft plan and pointed out the flaws in it and offered suggestions.

"These suggestions were forwarded to the government by the council, which continued to press that the plan was faulty and should be redone," the CSJP stated.