HC stays clearance for 12-villa project at Paliem in Bardez

Panaji: The high court has stayed the technical clearance order for the construction of 12 villas and swimming pool at Paliem in Bardez until the next hearing on a public interest petition in the case.

The petition challenges the technical clearance order granted for the construction in an orchard area with a no-development slope. The petition alleges that the town and country planning (TCP) department falsely mentioned the area as a settlement zone in the technical clearance order.

Further, the petition states that the property has no access road.

The technical clearance order dated March 13, 2023, shows that the access road to the plot is proposed to be 10m wide, and the permission was granted to a non-existing road in contradiction to the order of the principal secretary (TCP) dated Aug 8, 2024, the petitioners submitted to the HC.
The petitioners are Alvito D’Silva, the chairman of the biodiversity committee of the Pomburpa-Olaulim panchayat and the adjacent Ucassaim-Paliem-Punola panchayat; and Ganpat Sidhaye, the chairman of the biodiversity committee of the Penha-De France panchayat. They submitted to the HC that the entire plot is marked as an orchard with a no-development slope in Regional Plan 2021.

Despite this, the petitioners told the HC, the TCP department granted the technical clearance order to allow construction on the no-development slope by falsely mentioning it as a settlement zone in the order.

The petition alleged that these developments show corruption and connivance of officials within state govt at the highest levels and allege fraud and manipulation played upon Regional Plan 2021 and building regulations by officials of the TCP department.

The petitioners are seeking the cancellation of the technical clearance order.