Sat Mar 15 01:39:17 UTC 2025: ## Goa High Court Strikes Down Controversial Zoning Law
**Panaji, Goa – March 15, 2025** – The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court has declared Section 17(2) of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, 1974, invalid. This section, notified in March 2023, allowed for the creation of zones within existing zones, ostensibly to correct planning errors. However, the court ruled that the provision primarily served the interests of private landowners, undermining the Regional Plan (RP), a long-term land-use blueprint for the state.
The decision follows a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by three citizen organizations – Goa Foundation, Khazan Society of Goa, and Goa Bachao Abhiyan – in June 2023. They argued that the section was being misused to convert large tracts of land, including paddy fields and natural reserves, for commercial purposes.
The court noted that between March 2023 and January 2025, 353 approvals were granted under Section 17(2), affecting approximately 2.65 million square meters of land. The judges found that this “plot-by-plot conversion…virtually has the effect of mutilating the RP.” They concluded that the section did not balance sustainable development with environmental concerns, as intended, but instead prioritized private interests. The court deemed the section unconstitutional.
First Piper 