Goa to ban use of farm land for commercial activities

Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday unveiled the Goa Amritkal Agriculture Policy, which lays out a road map for the agriculture sector with an aim to "restore, revive and preserve" the state's agricultural heritage.

- Gerard de Souza

PANAJI:

Among the highlights of the policy is a ban on the conversion of agricultural land, especially paddy fields, for non-agricultural purposes including for residential or commercial construction move the chief minister said would "keep Goa green".

"The focus of the policy will be to preserve Goa's valuable agricultural heritage. Goa's fields need to be preserved... It is our responsibility to maintain green Goa. Even if the TCP (town and country planning) department converts paddy agricultural land, we have already passed a law that paddy agriculture land will not be converted that will never be converted," Sawant announced, while unveiling the policy.