By: Savio Rodrigues
3rd of the series of investigation
The Chief Town Planner has filed a detailed report on the status of the project pursuant to directions of the High Court. The report indicates that most of the constructions going on at the Bambolim site of the project do not have approvals from the authorities and there are major deviations from the approved plans. Still the Town Planning has not halted the constructions for deviating from the approved plans.
The files dealing with the constructions of the Aldeia de Goa project were also never approved by the PWD. In fact, they were not sent to the PWD at all.
The High Court had stayed the construction of the project in August 2008. However, the Supreme Court permitted it to continue at its own risk and cost. Though the construction under challenge is admittedly within the CRZ (Coastal Regulatory Zone), 100 meters of the river, it has received the backing of the Ministry of Environment and the State Government.
The owners of Aldeia de Goa filed its writ petition in the Supreme Court in August 2008; copy of the petition was served on PMCA and the Goa Foundation only a year later in August 2009. Aldeia de Goa has also filed a Transfer Petition seeking to transfer the petition filed by the PMCA and Goa Foundation in the High Court to the Supreme Court. Copy of the Transfer Petition, also filed a year ago, in August 2008, has never been served on the two NGOs.
The case of ‘Missing Files’ will come up for hearing before the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court this week. But since 2008, the Goa government has not been able to locate the files.
