Team Herald
PANJIM: The exposure of land documents pertaining to the purchase of a property by Goa Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel has stirred a social and political hornet's nest in the State.
Right To Information (RTI) activist Swapnesh Sherlekar in his YouTube channel, broadcast a video which stated that the Chief Secretary purchased a land admeasuring 1,875 square metres at Rs 2.60 crore after it was converted from orchard to settlement
at Aldona.
Sherlekar called it ‘the illegal purchase’ of a bungalow at Aldona by the Chief Secretary from one Cyril Philip Mendonca.
He alleged that the original bungalow was built illegally on an agricultural property on Survey No. 36/1 in Aldona village, under Section 17(2) of Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act.
The bungalow was constructed in 2016 and the sale deed for the same was done in May 2024.
He criticised the government and the TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane for giving a clean chit in this matter.
Shetlekar said it was found that the land was originally a paddy field. With no possibility of building any construction on that agricultural field, Mendonca continued to build an illegal structure in 2016. In May 2024, Mendonca sold the property to the Chief Secretary.
Sherlekar said, “This is a curious case of property dealing. It is curious because Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel has purchased it for Rs 2.60 lakh. The sale deed was done on May 18. 2024. Though Mendonca was the land owner, the signing and execution of deed was done by his family friend Domnic Alfonso vide power of attorney. It was a paddy field and I was surprised how a paddy field could be bought for Rs 2.60 crore. Though shown as a paddy field in zoning, I noticed a bungalow built on it in February 2024.”
According to Sherlekar, constructions started mushrooming on the plot from October 2016. As per Regional Plan 2021 there was no development potential but Mendonca illegally built a bungalow in 2016 and sold the entire plot of 1,875 sq mts to Goel in May 2024. He said that on March 14, 2024, the land was altered from orchard to settlement zone and Section 17 (2) of TCP Act was also used to regularise the illegal bungalow. The property is known as “Panarachi Moloi”, also known as “Pandre.”
Sherlekar further said that both, the Chief Secretary and the TCP Minister, had signed on file notings, What is more surprising is that despite being a part of the decision making, it was his responsibility to act against illegal construction.
But he became a part of the decision to regularise it and purchased it along with an illegal bungalow in May 2024. There is no law of the land and it has become a real estate business.
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