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Plea filed challenging permissions granted to Dabolim project in HC
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, JAN 7
Though Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) and Save Our Slopes (SOS) through their
collective effort have succeeded in getting the Chief Town Planner to issue
stop hill-cutting instructions to the DLF project at Dabolim, a writ
petition has been filed in the High Court challenging the permissions
granted to the company.
Goa Foundation and Edwin Mascarenhas, resident of Chicalim who obtained
information under RTI filed a Public Interest Litigation in the High Court
challenging the permissions on Wednesday.
Following the instructions issued by chief town planner, hill cutting has
been stopped as demanded by GBA and SOS, convenors of the two organisations
Dr Sabina Martins and Audhut Naik respectively said at a press conference
here. GBA treasurer Anand Madgavkar, joint secretary Miguel Braganza,
members Dr Oscar Rebello and Aravind Bhatikar were also present.
Naik explained that several corner meetings and public meetings were held in
the villages of Chicalim, Dabolim, Sancoale and Cortalim jointly by SOS and
GBA with the participation of other village level groups. A delegation of
GBA and SOS which repeatedly called on the CTP had objected to the Town and
Country Planning Department giving hill cutting permissions under Section
17-A of the Goa TCP Act, 1975 [as amended] despite the gradient of slope
being more than 25%.
As a consequence of the protest, the stop work instructions was given and a
committee was constituted under the Chairmanship of Deputy Town Planner Mr
Bandodkar with a technical representatives of the SOS-GBA to physically
verify the gradient of the hill slope which was not done before giving
permissions.
The joint technical team went for inspection and preliminary reports given
by our surveyor stated that the property is thickly forested making it
difficult to calculate slopes, Martins said adding that in the areas where
trees were cut, the slopes were of more than 30%.
The GBA and SOS have demanded that the hill cutting permissions be withdrawn
in writing immediately. In the meantime, the Dabolim villagers are keeping a
strict watch on the property to see that no hill cutting and tree felling
takes place, Naik said.
GBA declared that it would continue to challenge the “illegal permissions”
given by various authorities for the project. The DLF project at Dabolim has
got exemption from the conversion sanad on grounds that the area is shown
under settlement in the ODP of Marmugao, even though the whole area has been
shown as No Development Zone in the RP-21, Martins said.
The project proposals were apparently kept pending with Mormugao PDA for
more than three months without any examination of the proposal, thereby
allowing it to be interpreted as “deemed permission” by the applicants,
Saravati Builders/DLF, she added.
GBA and SOS have demanded that the government take corrective action to
revoke all permissions which has resulted in loss of revenue as well as set
in motion the irreversible destruction of eco zones.
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Please post your comments on my Blog: http://goanidentity.blogspot.com/
Please also see below:
1. Benaulim Village Action Committee: http://www.bvacbenaulim.blogspot.com/
2. "Rape of Goa" : http://www.parrikar.com/blog/the-rape-of-goa/
3. MAND - an adivasi-rights resource centre : http://mandgoa.blogspot.com/
4. EVERY GOAN SHOULD SEE THIS VIDEO:
http://infochangeindia.org/Infochange-documentary.html
5. For the Love of Konkani: http://www.radiogoa.net/
6. Goa's Identity Movement website: http://www.goamag.net/gim
7. Goa's Identity Movement group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com//#/group.php?gid=193497031686
8. Official Government Site NRI Office (GOA): http://www.globalgoans.org.in/
