Hill-cutting: Margao town planner asked to lodge FIRs against offenders
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, JUNE 10
Cornered over the failure to file FIR against persons involved in illegal hill cutting and land filling, the Town and Country Planning department on Thursday issued directions to the Town Planner, Margao to start lodging FIRs with the police against the offenders.
As many as 18 cases were pending with the TCP after the newly constituted flying squads issued stop work orders in South Goa over the last few days.
When village groups gheraoed Senior Town Planner Puttaraju at the Margao TCP office Thursday morning, he said that he has issued directions to the Town Planner, Margao Rajesh Naik to lodge the FIRs with the police.
Defending the delay in filing the FIR against the law violators even after the flying squads have stopped work orders, Puttaraju said the TCP needs to conduct an inspection of the site before filing the FIR. “This process will certainly take time and hence we could not file FIR in the 18 cases referred by the flying squad”, he added.
Replying to a question, he admitted that the TCP will encounter problems, including manpower, infrastructure such as vehicles to go about the work. “This new concept of flying squad is a new one and it will require some time before the new system is put in place”, he added.
Asked whether the deadline of 48 hours set to lodge an FIR is too short a time, he answered in the negative, but hastened to add that the time frame would be short, especially during the weekend when the offices are closed. “The flying squad will be working on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but the TCP will certainly difficulties during the weekend”, he said, adding that the TCP will now ask the police to maintain a vigil at the concerned sites where work is stopped by the flying squads.
“I have asked the Town Planner to file FIR in all the 18 cases from tomorrow and complete the process by next Wednesday”, he added.
Earlier, the Village Groups complained to Puttaraju that work is carried out in full pace the illegal hill cutting and land filling sites despite work orders issued by the flying squads.
The NGOs insisted that the TCP should take the stop work orders issued by the flying squads to the logical conclusions. “Otherwise, the entire exercise will be an eyewash. No FIR has been lodged till date”, they complained.
