THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
A division bench of the Bombay High Court at Goa on Tuesday posted a PIL filed against the Tiracol golf course project to June 24, 2015.
The PIL was filed by the St Anthony’s Tenants and Mundkars Association, Tiracol, challenging the construction of a golf course by Leading Hotels on lands covered under the Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964
The High Court adjourned the matter to June 24 to enable association to amend the petition and bring the original landowner, Kashinath Khalap, on record as a respondent. The Querim-Tiracol panchayat was also added as a party. When the counsel for the petitioners pressed for stay of the illegal road under construction, the court declared that any construction that Leading Hotels may make will be subject to further orders and they will not be able to claim equity. Application for stay will now come up for hearing on June 24.
The other petitioners include Anthony Mendes, a Tiracol resident and tenant, and Goa Foundation.
The PIL challenges efforts made by the Leading Hotels to bypass the provisions of the Goa Agricultural Tenancy Act 1974 and Goa Land Use Act 1991 allegedly through fraudulent means.
The tenants allege that the land was sold through questionable proceedings in lower courts and connected administrative decisions, 95% of the land in Tiracol village – which was earlier tenanted – has been shown to be purchased by the resort company which proposes to install a golf course and hotel project.
The petition alleges that the entire land area of Tiracol village admeasures around 13,84,000 sq mts, and the total tenanted land comprised 11,27,097 sq mts. In other words, 90% of the land of the village was tenanted on October 8, 1976 (Tillers Day), if not earlier, in 1964 itself.
The remaining land belongs to the Government of Goa that includes the fort and other heritage areas.
"Entire batches of applications for tenancy free status were disposed of on a single day, en masse, by the Deputy Collector of Pernem. The scale of collusion of the revenue authorities with the actions and intentions of the Leading Hotels is nothing short of staggering," claimed Goa Foundation executive director Claude Alvares.
The petitioners have also challenged permissions given by the Town and Country Planning Department for the golf course, consent to establish golf course issued by the Pollution Control Board, Environment Clearance issued by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and sanads issued by the Collector, North Goa.
