Team Herald
PANJIM: The Calangute Village Panchayat has challenged the four-month-old notification on the draft Outline Development Plan of Calangute-Candolim, before the High Court of Bombay at Goa. In its petition filed on Monday, legal counsel for the panchayat Advocate Pranay Kamat alleged that they were not consulted at the time of preparing the draft.
The petitioner has thus sought the division bench of Justices Nutan Sardessai and Anoop Mohta to set aside the notification.
“As per 73rd and 74th amendment to Constitution of India, the Panchayat has been given powers to prepare development plan and it has to be submitted to Zilla Panchayat who in turn has to submit it to District Planning Committee and then government has to approve it. Hence provisions of Town planning Act are inconsistent to the provisions of constitutionals well as Panchayat Raj Act. Therefore, NGPDA has no authority to prepare ODP. Further if NGPDA can exercise its right to prepare ODP then under section 29 of TCP Act before preparing the ODP, there should be consultation of the Panchayat” said Advocate Pranay Kamat.
“However, draft ODP is prepared by NGPDA without consulting the Panchayat and hence it is illegal and void. Panchayat has alleged that in draft ODP suggestions and project proposed by Panchayat are not considered; agricultural/orchard land is converted in settlement or commercial zone, roads-infrastructure required by Panchayat, CRZ restrictions are not considered, existing floor area ratio is increased from 80 percent to 100 percent and all this has been done to favour businessmen builders lobby” he added.
The petitioner has sought to quash and set aside the NGPDA notification and approval granted by government to draft ODP and also to implement section 238 and 239 of Goa Panchayat Raj Act and allow Panchayat to prepare development plan as per Panchayat Raj Act and to restrain NGPDA from finalizing the ODP.
Based on the above matter, the High Court has issued notices to government and NGPDA and asked to file reply fixing the petition for interim relief next week since similar issue is raised in PIL wp 30/2016 related to Margao ODP of which petition is admitted and fixed for final hearing on April 3, 2017 and interim relief is granted in that petition.
The State of Goa, Director of Panchayat, Town and Country Planning (TCP), NGPDA, North Goa Zilla Panchayat are made respondents to the petition.
Senior counsel Zilman Coelho Pereira along with Adv Pronoy Kamat appeared for Village Panchayat Calangute while Adv General D Lawande appeared for NGPDA and Government of Goa.
