MAPUSA
The legal battle over the controversial mega project at Assagao is set to intensify, with the Assagao panchayat’s Village Development Committee unanimously resolving to challenge the Bombay High Court’s Goa bench verdict in favour of M/s Ryago Homes Pvt Ltd.
At a meeting on Friday, the VDC resolved to either file a review petition against the High Court verdict or challenge it directly before the Supreme Court.
It also authorised the panchayat body to pursue further legal action, signalling that the dispute over the project is far from over.
Assagao Sarpanch Hanumant Naik said the Assagao Village Development Committee (VDC) had given the panchayat the go-ahead to pursue legal remedies against the High Court order, including approaching the Supreme Court, if necessary. “The panchayat body will meet on Saturday to pass a resolution on whether to seek a review of the High Court order or challenge it before the Supreme Court,” Naik said.
The controversy centres on around 48,000 square metres of land purchased by the company at Assagao, which was converted into a settlement zone under Section 17(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act.
Questions have also been raised over the use of the same provision to show an eight-metre-wide access road through communidade land for the proposed development.
The dispute escalated after the company approached the Assagao panchayat for a construction licence to erect a compound wall around the project site. The panchayat refused permission, triggering a legal battle that moved through the Director of Panchayats and the district court before reaching the High Court, which ruled in favour of the company.
The committee has maintained that alleged irregularities in the project cannot be overlooked and that the interests of the village and the rights of local residents must be protected.
