DLF luxury township runs into village protest in Goa

River Valley-DLF Goa at Chicalim, marketed as holiday homes and Goa’s largest condominium is set to convert 19 acres of lush riverside into a massive built-up zone with 600 apartments, row villas and a massive clubhouse. Its selling point is the unobstructed waterfront of the Zuari river, which has so far remained largely untouched because of restriction on development.

But GBA and local bodies like the Chicalim Village Action Committee and Concerned Residents of Mormugao have a different take on the DLF township. They say state government agencies have allowed the mega player to cut into the hill and chop down trees in a no development slope.

The state’s draft regional plan 2021 has clearly earmarked the Chicalim village as an ecologically sensitive zone, the GBA said producing documents to supplement its case. But the government had deliberately undermined its own rules to suit projects of the well-connected.

“We condemn the blatant violations of procedures and development rules and demand that the government put infrastructure before development and handle garbage, sanitation and water issues before granting permission to township projects,” GBA convenor Sabina Martins told the media.

Deputy Speaker Mauvin Godinho who represents the constituency said there was nothing illegal about the DLF project. He would have been the first to protest, he says.