TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The Goa Heritage Action Group has said the granting of permission to construction (by Joe Mathias) at Campal heritage precincts is “akin to the recent tragedy at Canacona” and is “another example in collective failure to discharge responsibility.” In a strongly worded letter to the Chairman of the Conservation Committee of the Town and Country Planning Department they said that the construction in the Campal Heritage precinct, which has presently been stayed, is in violation of all norms.
The letter signed by Architect Poonam Varma Mascarenhas, the Honorary Secretary of the GHAG states that the plans should never have been approved.
“The stilt with height of 2.8m for car parking is very questionable as two of the bays have old tree on the front. Either these are not car parking spaces, especially since they have a height of habitable rooms) or the trees are imminently threatened… the stilt height which is shown as 2.80 in the drawings is actually 3.15 at site. While deviations are allowed in non-conservations areas, the 2010 regulations specifically state that this is not allowed in conservation areas,” a section of the letter reads.
“Further, since the stilts are more than 2.50 metre in height it should not be considered free of FAR. On this basis alone the conservation committee and the NGPDA too should not have approved the plans,” the letter further reads.
“The no objection Stamp from the Conservation Committee of the TCP to such insensitive additions and alteration to design scheme and misinterpretation of the conservation guidelines is most mind boggling and for the TCP to not investigate into the basic building byelaws is distressing,” the letter concludes.
