PANAJI
Also accused in the case is Vincent Gracias, who along with 19 other persons, submitted an application which resulted in the dropping of land acquisition process, four years after being initiated.The trio has been booked under Section 120 B and 420 of IPC, Section 13 (i) (d) read with 32 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.​The complaint hinting at wrongdoings in GHB land acquisition process initiated on December 17, 2007 was received by Directorate of Vigilance on February 12 this year. The complaint said that GHB officers in connivance with around 19 other persons acted to drop the land acquisition procedure.Briefing the media at police headquarters, Superintendent of Police (ACB) Vimal Anand Gupta informed that the GHB, in a board meeting held on December 17, 2007, decided to acquire the said piece of land for implementation of housing scheme.Subsequently, on August 7, 2008, a No Objection Certificate was obtained from Town and Country Planning Department office in Margao and the land was thereafter earmarked as settlement zone.GHB pursued the matter further communicating its decision to South Goa collector.On September 4, 2009, GHB proceeded to deposit a cheque for `21.80 lakh as 25 per cent cost of the land in Economic Development Corporation, the intermediary towards acquisition.In the same year, GHB requested the secretary of revenue department to issue notification under Section 4 of Land Acquisition Act thereby notifying the land due for acquisition.The notification, however, was pending between 2009 and 2011.On March 18, 2011, one Vincent Gracias along with 19 other persons moved an application with then GHB MD Gomes requesting the corporation not to consider this land for acquisition while claiming that they are cultivators undertaking agricultural activities on the property.“Following this, the then GHB chairman Halarnkar hurriedly called a board meeting, without any agenda, and stated that this request may be considered subject to government approval,” SP Gupta explained.However, on June 7, 2011, Gomes forwarded the proposal to the housing department for dropping the land acquisition.Gomes, at this juncture, was holding dual charge of MD GHB and joint secretary of Housing. He forwarded the proposal to his own office, in other words. The office of joint secretary (housing) conveyed approval to GHB proposal on July 20, 2011.SP Gupta further informed, “This proposal was not placed on a file addressed to the housing secretary, who is the competent authority to take up the matter.”Gomes then informed Gracias and other applicants that GHB has decided to drop the land acquisition proposal and that the same has been approved by the government.On the same day, he wrote to EDC requesting a refund of `21.80 lakh with interest.“The entire acquisition procedure was dropped on the basis of a single-page letter from these 20 applicant. Thereafter the land earmarked as settlement zone was changed in 2010 into commercial zone. Gracias and others, who are not owners of the land, disposed off the entire property even before the acquisition was dropped formally,” SP Gupta stated.Presently, the ACB probe in investigating various angles including the motive, involvement of other individuals, role played by the present accused and others as well as titles and legal ownership documents of ownership of the 30,256 sq mts of land in Margao.
