Goa, Sept. 21 -- Town and Country Planning (TCP) Minister Vishwajit Rane has said that old settlements and settlement pockets currently mapped under No Development Areas (NDA) and No Development Zones (NDZ) will be removed from these classifications.

Rane said the move is aimed at addressing concerns of families who have been residing in these settlements for generations and whose properties have been affected by the existing planning classifications.

At the same time, he clarified that environmentally sensitive areas will continue to receive protection. Private forests, khazan lands, salt pans, paddy fields, low-lying areas, mangroves and non-development slopes will remain protected, with regulations governing these areas to be strictl...