Goa to bring policy to protect Portuguese-era structures

The Goa government has decided to formulate a heritage conservation policy for Portuguese-era structures in the state.

Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai said  on Saturday  that the policy would be framed after consulting experts in the field.

He said the policy would not only document the existing heritage structures but will also work to give them a new lease of life.

The minister informed that the Department of Archives and Archaeology could also be roped in to restore the dilapidated structures if they are covered under the policy.

"Incentives would be introduced for those who have conserved their ancestral structures with heritage and architectural value," he said.

He said the state-based Charles Correa Foundation, which has been working towards heritage conservation, has been requested by the government to document and list heritage buildings across Goa.

"The structures would be graded by the foundation. They had started grading the heritage houses in Panaji much before we approached them. We have now asked them to extend scope of their work to other places too," Sardesai said.

The coastal state has several hundred houses with the Indo-Portuguese architecture, built during colonial rule.