MAPUSA
Treading carefully after the High Court’s recent order quashing the Outline Development Plans (ODPs) of five coastal villages, including Calangute, the local panchayat has decided to wait until the expiry of the four-week period granted by the court before taking any further action.
During the gram sabha held on Sunday, Calangute Sarpanch Joseph Sequeira informed villagers that the panchayat had sought legal advice and was advised to refrain from immediate steps until the court-mandated waiting period lapses.
“We are working on it. Since the High Court has granted a four-week stay on its order, we have taken legal opinion which suggested we wait until that period ends,” Sequeira said.
The issue was raised by local resident and one of the High Court petitioners, Premanand Diukar, who sought clarity on the steps the panchayat intends to take to rectify what he described as the damage caused by the now-defunct ODP.
Significantly, the Calangute Panchayat itself is one of the petitioners in the case that led to the scrapping of the ODP.
With the plan now nullified, residents are urging swift and corrective measures to address developments that had been approved under it.
