Team Herald
PANJIM: The illegal land conversion in Aldona that embroiled the then Chief Secretary PK Goel and ultimately forced his transfer in October has led to a fresh controversy, with the petitioners claiming in High Court that Goel had deliberately suppressed that his wife Madhuri already owned a property in Mapusa.
This puts under a cloud Goel’s assertion that he sold his Haryana property to buy the one in Aldona as he looked to settle in Goa after his retirement.
Dhirendra Phadte and Jose Maria Miranda had filed a PIL writ petition before the High Court of Bombay at Goa in October, challenging the land acquired by Goel at Aldona after converting it into settlement.
Phadte has said in his affidavit countering Goel’s reply to the court that the ex-chief secretary’s conduct brings disrepute to the bureaucracy. He further claimed that by virtue of the two posts he held – that of Chief Secretary and Secretary (Town Plnning) – Goel was aware of the two illegal structures on the property and the fact that he would directly benefit from them. Phadte also claimed that Town Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane signed the file on March 11, 2024, despite being aware of the property details, indicating his complicity.
Phadte stated in court that Goel allegedly manipulated the system and the Scrutiny Committee examined the proposal in a lax manner, which indicates that it was aware of the interests behind the application. By changing the zone, an illegal bungalow and house were built within the paddy field, which had been provided with a quasi-legal cover for eventual regularisation, said Phadte, adding that the entire property falls within the No Development Zone (NDZ) of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) as indicated in the notified Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP).
In another affidavit-in-reply, Phadte also implicated Chief Town Planner (CTP) Rajesh Naik in the case and said that he was a party to the "colourable exercise of power". The matter will next be heard on January 7, 2025.