TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: CCP commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues deceived us, by asking us not to approach the State Conservation Committee in order to represent what they term is a violation in the heritage bye-laws in the Campal heritage precinct, the residents of Campal have alleged.
A battle is being waged over a Corporation of the City of Panaji permission being given for “addition, renovation and repair” to an existing house within the Campal heritage precinct to M/s Konkan Estates and its developer Joe Mathias.
On December 12, Thursday, based on complaints by the Campal residents especially Dr Bossuet Afonso, who lives bang opposite the upcoming construction, the CCP team visited the site along with the developer’s architect.
“The developer agreed to stop the work on his own until Monday. The commissioner specifically requested the residents not to make any official representation since the matter would be sorted out. In fact, we had thought of representing before the Conservation Committee as we heard that the committee was meeting soon,” co-opted councilor Patricia Pinto said, speaking on behalf of the Campal residents.
“To our shock and surprise, over the weekend the work was carried out in full swing and three floors have been built…,” she said.
“The Campal residents therefore restrained from making any representation even though they had planned to meet the committee simply on your request, however all residents were shocked to find that the developer, much against his word, given in your presence, resumed the work in full swing Saturday and Sunday being government holidays,” Dr Afonso said in his letter to Commissioner.
Sanjit Rodrigues said that he is examining the issue to see whether and where they have gone wrong as per the rules.
Further he refused to comment about what he has privately discussed with the members of the campal residents association.
The residents have several grievances against the project, the most important of them is that it is approved based on a Table IX of the Goa (Regulation of Land Development and Building Construction) Act, which they say has been fraudulently inserted and have at least demanded a stoppage of the work while the CCP sorts out the issue.
“Height of the building allowed in conservation area is 7.6m (Gr +1), the height in this case is not Ground plus one storey, but Ground plus two considering in conservation area there is nothing called ‘stilt floor’ and upper ground floor… there is no provision in the rules where the conservation committee has the liberty or the power to relax the height condition of 7.6m,” Pinto said.
“The conservation committee needs to answer questions, the developer of the project needs to be questioned for misrepresenting facts,” she said.
They alleged a fraud in the insertion, because while the rest of the amended rules were published as a draft and placed before the public before vetting, this Table IX was not placed in the draft notification. When the rules were finally notified, the table mysteriously appears.
“This fraud of clandestinely inserting table IX in the final rules without publishing the same in the draft rules for objections and suggestions of the public… we were informed by a member of the conservation committee that the same (letter objecting to the fraud insertion) was discussed in their meeting and the chief minister who is the chairman of the committee decided the table IX and revert to Table – 4 of the 1989 regulations. This was again confirmed by a member of the conservation committee,” Dr Afonso said in his letter.
When Herald spoke to member of the conservation committee, Arminio Ribeiro, he denied having any knowledge of the said Table, or any move to have it withdrawn.
“I’m sorry, I honestly have no information about Table IX. Secondly the rules have gone through the process of notification, how can they be a fraud,” Ribeiro said.
CCP Mayor Surendra Furtado when contacted by Herald said he had nothing to do with the project and sought to distance himself from it.
