Team Herald
PANJIM: The Goa Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) has penalised a Panjim-based builder Rs 5 lakh for not registering themselves with the Authority and to pay Rs 1 lakh as costs to the complainant – the Colva Civic and Consumer Forum represented by its president Judith Almeida and secretary Shakuntala Mesquita.
The Goa RERA member Vincent D’Silva has directed the T R Constructions to pay the penalty amount within 60 days of the passing of the order under Section 59 of the RERA Act, failing which necessary proceedings will be initiated against it.
He has also directed the three respondents Sonia Lemos, Tony Rodrigues and the T R Constructions to file compliance report of the order in the form of an affidavit within two months of the order, failing which further legal action will be initiated by the Authority under the RERA Act, for execution of the order.
The respondents had undertaken plotted development in two phases for a total area 16,725 square metres in Survey No. 119/2, Ward-I of Colva Village, Salcete and had allegedly sold five plots. There was no mandatory board at the site indicating the name of developer, licences, and permissions etc, as per the rules. The project was based on a proposed road of six metres width towards the south and the existing access being only 3.50 metres wide and to the north of the project, the existing access was only 4 metres wide when the requirement of the proposed access was 10 metres wide. There are several houses and some boundary walls along both the main roads leaving no scope for road widening. A new internal road was built leading from the main road to the site, internal roads within the project under construction and sub-division of plots was marked on the ground.
That despite the contours of the land not supporting plotted development and lack of mandatory main access road, the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department, Margao allegedly in collusion with the respondents approved the plotted development land dated 20.04.2023.