Team Herald
PANJIM: Days ahead of the State Assembly elections, the Se-Old Goa Panchayat has resolved to demolish the illegal structure located in the protected heritage zone at Old Goa.
The village panchayat has resolved to direct the owner of the bungalow, Sumermal Jain of Corvus Urban Infrastructures LLP and Kranti Sadan, Kamathipura, Mumbai, to demolish the structure, at their own cost, within 15 days failing which the process would be initiated through the Deputy Collector.
Speaking to media persons post the meeting, panch member Vishwas Kuttikar said the show cause notice issued to the bungalow owner on January 24 was returned stating “change in address”.
The show cause notice issued, as per the resolution number 4 (1) dated January 20, 2022, was served to the owner of the controversial bungalow on January 24 by the village panchayat secretary Ashish Naik after conducting a site inspection on January 13, 2022 and recording the panchanama in the presence of the representative of the bungalow owner and others.
“Now, we have resolved to ask the owner to demolish the illegal structure within 15 days failing which the panchayat will initiate the process through the Deputy Collector,” Kuttikar said.
The panchayat had in December 2021, revoked the permission-cum-licence granted by it following directions from the Department of Town and Country Planning (TCP).
Following massive protests and a fast, the TCP Department had on December 3, 2021 asked the panchayat to take necessary action. Before that the department had on November 30, last year, revoked the technical clearance granted to the original owner of the land, on October 18, 2016.
The technical clearance was sought in the name of the original owner, who sold 2400 sq mts of the land to Survarna Lotlikar, and 9,500 sq mts to Manish Munot.
It is to be noted that the Save Old Goa Action Committee (SOGAC) had approached the Supreme Court regarding the matter and have repeatedly called for investigations across government departments as to how the fraudulent permissions were given in the first place.
