MARGAO: Former minister Mickky Pacheco lamented that tall but empty promises and lofty statements are made in the ongoing assembly session while in reality all kinds of illegalities especially in the real estate sector are permitted by the government.
Citing the example of Verna, he said two illegal developments have been permitted by the government in contravention of all the existing laws and lamented that even the complaints lodged by the people are not entertained by the government or the panchayat. He said the panchayat has granted NOC to a person to develop an open air entertainment place next to a lake that is cultivated for one season only because the Town and Country Planning Department has given its technical clearance to the project.
“The panchayat should issue NOC after checking the ground reality and this project does not have proper access road nor has it got permission from Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority and yet the panchayat has given it NOC,” he said adding that the panchayat did not even entertain the locals who had gone to complain.
Mickky further stated that the promoter of the project has told him personally that he has paid money out of his own free will to the TCP officials and even the panchayat and hence got the permissions.
“The owner also said he proposed to cut the hillock on which he owns 20,000 sq mts of land to provide for parking space for the open air entertainment place and asked the government to use the soil for road filling wherever required,” Mickky said pointing out that the hillock has a steep gradient and cannot be cut down.
Mickky further said that around 1.2 lakh square metres of land under Survey No 150/0 on the Verna plateau is illegally being developed by demarcating plots and roads and added that this development has no permission from any authority.
