Team Herald
MArgao: Acting swiftly to media reports about an OBC family facing blockage of the traditional access to their ancestral house Town and Country Planning Minister VijaiSardessai directed his department to issue show cause notice to the person who had blocked the access.
The show cause notice issued by the department to Shrivallabh P Pai Fondekar gives him seven days to reply as to why the technical clearance given to him on 10th August 2018 should not be revoked.
The notice pointed out that at the inspection held on 8th November following a complaint by Mangala Pednekar it was observed that the compound wall constructed was not as per the plan submitted to the department.
Besides, it was also pointed out that a metallic structure was erected in the property which was not shown in the plan and the gate erected for the compound wall was in violation of the term that the access shall not be blocked.
Mangala Pednekar along with her mentally challenged brother were born and brought up in the place as it was occupied by their grandparents who had even constructed a well next to the house and the land records show the Pednekar’s as other rights holders.
The entire property has been enclosed by the compound wall and a security person sits with the key of the gate that is locked keeping the Pednekar family locked inside the property. Although Shiv Vallabh Fondekar claims to have inherited the land, he has not produced on record how he came in possession of the land as in the land records it stands registered in another name pointed out Judith Almeida.
Judith further pointed out that the structure in which the Pednekar siblings live is shown on the survey records and therefore ought to have been clearly demarcated in the inventory proceedings if any were held.
Taking note that the department had issued clearance that has caused distress to the OBC family, he also noted “Also directions being issued to ensure that all such cases come to my notice and not cleared at Department level.”
Before issuing the directions Vijai consulted Judith Almeida and Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao over the phone on this matter and also spoke to the Colva Police Inspector and then met Chief Town Planner Rajesh Naik and other TCP officials to take the final call.
Prima facie Vijai opined that there appears to be a mis-representation of status by the person while seeking the permission and he has constructed a compound wall of 1.8 mts height while the permitted height is only 1.5 mts.
