MARGAO
In an interesting development on the contentious kabrastan issue, the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) has made a submission before the High Court that burial grounds are permitted in a residential zone as per the Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations, 2010.
The PDA submission in the Court assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of the fact that the Planning body had changed the zone of the Sonsodo land, acquired for kabrastan, in the ODP to low-cost housing and had sought to shift the burial grounds to the area at Sirvodem-Navelim area.
The High Court had directed the SGPDA to file an affidavit explaining whether the PDA’s feasibility report dated August 19, 2022 was prepared after physically visiting the site and the material considered by the Member Secretary in giving such a feasibility report.
The SGPDA had prepared the feasibility report after the Margao Municipal Council had made a request to the PDA for a feasibility report on the construction of the proposed kabrastan at Sonsodo as well as at Sirvodem-Khareband area.
“I say that, at Serial No. 4 of my feasibility report I have remarked that part of the area where cutting permission was granted is marked as residential zone (S-1) for low-cost housing. I have further remarked that burial grounds are permitted in residential zone as per Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations, 2010,” the PDA member secretary stated in his affidavit.
Saying he has perused the affidavit dated September 8, 2022 filed by the Margao Municipal Council, the PDA member secretary said the affidavit, misquotes and/ or misinterprets the feasibility report dated August 19, 2022, saying the permission dated February 11, 2016 issued under Section 17A of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1974, will indicate that the PDA had indeed considered permission for the burial ground at Sonsodo where the gradient was less than 25 per cent and within permissible limits.
As far as the Outline Development Plan (ODP) 2028 is concerned, the PDA submitted that it had earmarked an area of 12,162 square metres for low-cost housing for low-cost housing (residential S-1) at Sonsodo and an area of 4,316 sq. mtrs for 33 KV electrical sub-station.
Saying that the ODP 2028 identifies the zones, the PDA Member Secretary further said that in the event any application for development is received in respect of the said zones, the same will have to be considered in terms of the Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations, 2010.
