Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa stayed a hotel project at Arossim after it was found that the technical clearance granted by the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department was renewed in March 2023 when it had expired in 2022.
Jose Joaquim Fernandes and three villagers of Arossim had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) writ petition challenging the grant of technical clearance by the TCP Department for the construction of a hotel by M/s Goa Inn Private Ltd at Arossim village in Mormugao taluka, within CRZ area.
The petition was filed, among other grounds, on the basis that Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and Town and Country Planning (TCP) laws were violated by granting technical clearance order, and that the project threatened the eco-sensitive sand dunes and low-lying paddy fields that were critical for the survival of the village.
The petitioners had highlighted the violation of orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directing authorities to mark all low-lying areas, stormwater drains, and water bodies in Arossim village, before granting any permissions, and also pointed out the sand dunes that shall be destroyed by the project.
The petitioners contended that there was no road access to the project site and the construction of the mandatory road access was impermissible in the No Development Zone (NDZ) and sand dunes, through which it was proposed.
The matter was heard by the division bench comprising Justice M S Karnik and Justice Nivedita P Mehta and noted that the technical clearance order was renewed in 2023 on the basis of a CRZ clearance that had already expired in 2022. Thus the Court granted an ad-interim stay order restraining the project proponent from carrying out any construction for the said project.
The petitioners were represented by Adv Charles Elton Da Gloria Furtado and Adv Dhruv Dhawan.