Team Herald
PANJIM: The two petitioners, who have challenged the land acquisition by former Chief Secretary P K Goel in Aldona, have disputed the claim by Cyril Mendonca, the respondent in the case, that a structure existed on the land since 1973. According to the petitioners, the structure came up only in 2019 and it was a paddy field before that and the land was illegally converted into settlement only to be acquired by Goel.
In their response filed in the High Court of Bombay at Goa, the petitioners called Mendonca’s claim that a structure existed since 1973 ‘false’ and ‘baseless’.
According to the petitioners, official records show that the land was used for paddy cultivation from 1977 to 1986, with only two years of interruption.
Direndra Phadte from Ecoxim, Bardez, who is the petitioner in the case along with Jose Maria Miranda from Borda, Margao, further accused Mendonca of hiding key information. He presented evidence showing that in 2019, Mendonca applied for a house number and a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for an electricity connection to the Aldona VP, indicating that the structures were built only in 2019, not in 1973 as claimed. The petitioners argue that it is impossible for structures to exist on a paddy field during the same period when it was being used for farming.
They also point out that Mendonca did not obtain an Occupancy Certificate for the structures and failed to get the necessary development permits from the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department, as required under the Goa Town and Country Planning Act.
The petitioners have filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to revoke the TCP Department’s notification from March 14, 2024, which approved the land conversion. They also demand the removal of the "illegal" structures and the restoration of the paddy field to its original condition.