Team Herald
PANJIM: Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, who was the architect of Section 16B of Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act after being dropped from the Cabinet looked at the issue with a different lens and vision, demanding scrapping of the controversial Section.
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During a discussion on the controversial section in the Legislative Assembly, Vijai had said, “The matter of Section 16B of TCP Act is before High Court. Not a single case has been taken forward. The Chief Minister should show guts and scrap the Section 16B. There are more than 7,700 cases related to this section and the section was not brought to make retail business.”
Vijai introduced Section 16B to TCP during his brief stint as the TCP Minister in 2018.
Welcoming the government’s decision, Vijai tweeted, “Better late than never! The scrapping of 16B of the TCP Act, even though belated, is welcome. I couldn’t have demanded its withdrawal more emphatically in the #Assembly having seen the rampant misuse it was subjected to, for which it was brought in.”
Demanding the creation of a vigilance department exclusively for TCP Department, he further tweeted, “Go all the way! I ask my #Assembly colleague and the #TCPMinister to ensure that the cases he’s pursued reach their logical end: the people he’s exposed pay their due. Create a #vigilance dept exclusively for #TCP so that offenders and would-be offenders do not escape your net.”
