PRATIK PARAB
pratik@herald-goa.com
SANCOALE: The Bhutani Infra project which is being opposed tooth and nail by the villagers of Sancoale, has once again indicated that if Governance is a continuous process, then ‘misgovernance’- a charge levelled by local
protestors - also is.
The timeline and fact check in the trail of the developments pertaining to the 257/1 property in Sancoale now under fire for alleged permission irregularities by Bhutani Infra, reveal the following:
A visit to this plot revealed that it is a property with green cover with some tree canopies reaching heights of 25 to 30 feet. On observing the land with naked eye, one can find the gradient of the land is hilly with steep slopes. There are several houses on the foothills of this property.
Some posts surfaced on social media channels revealing some so-called details regarding when the permissions to the project in the above property were given.
Even Chief Minister Pramod Sawant sarcastically asked the media and people opposing the project to find out who gave permissions, possibly pointing out to the erstwhile Congress government between 2007 to 2012.
However, there is more to this than what meets the eye. And the spin on facts has emerged.
M-Tech, a real estate company, and not Bhutani, had, in 2006 applied for the conversion of this land. They got the conversion done in 2007. Further, they got a Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority clearance in 2008.
Environment clearance was taken in 2009 while the construction licence for compound wall and Mormugao Planning and Development Authority (MPDA) approval was taken from Sancoale village panchayat in 2011.
Importantly, though the compound wall permission was taken, no wall was built on the border of this land till recently.
Further in 2011 construction licence was applied for and taken by the developer. Due to opposition by the locals and the local Panchayat, the project was halted. Now M-Tech and the permissions that they took, remained in limbo.
However, only when the locals saw the boards of Bhutani Infra on the property main gate, did they realise that the fight was not over yet. The new custodian Bhutani, through Parmesh Construction Company Ltd, has sought permission for construction with 200 Floor Area Ratio (FAR), which is 120 FAR more than the permissions that were sought by M-Tech way back in 2011.
Social and RTI Activist Narayan Naik, who has been following the case closely for years, said, “If the new developer is relying upon the old permissions, why did he apply for an increased FAR? How can permission as old as 13 years be relied upon to start construction, which is nearly two times bigger than the one we had opposed?” he asked.
Shamal Naik, a local resident said, “We had opposed the M-Tech project and we were jailed for opposing the project. The Goa government is completely missing the plot and is not working for the betterment of the local native Goans.”
Prakash Naik said, “Our generations have lived here and protected the land. There is no question of backing out. We will oppose this project tooth and nail,” he said.
Socorrina Marques said, “Our ancestors walked this land, they made a living from plantations on this land. Now, suddenly the very existence of the village is threatened. The entire village will continue to oppose the project,” she said.