PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has disposed of a four-year-old PIL over illegal hill-cutting at Arpora after recording that the damaged slope had been restored to a stable condition in accordance with technical recommendations.
The Court pronounced the order on Monday, after considering a June 29, 2026 report of the Goa Engineering College (GEC), which found that the restoration works had complied with its recommendations.
The PIL, filed by the Goa Foundation, arose after hill-cutting was noticed behind the Park Regis Hotel at Arpora in March 2022. The Foundation stated that it had first approached the Village Panchayat of Arpora-Nagoa on March 31, 2022, alleging heavy machinery being used to cut the hill located in a No Development Slope area under the Regional Plan.
With the work continuing, the Foundation then approached the High Court on April 12, 2022. On April 13, the Court directed the Flying Squad to immediately stop the hill-cutting activity.
An inspection by the North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) subsequently found that the hill had been cut vertically by about 4-5 metres over a stretch of around 100 mtrs and horizontally by about 30 mtrs. A road of about six mtrs width had also been excavated, involving further cuts of about 2-3 mtrs.
“The authorities later found that the hill-cutting was carried out without the permission required under Section 17-A of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, 1974. On September 20, 2022, the NGPDA held that the hill-cutting was in violation of Section 17-A and directed restoration of the hill to its original condition. The Village Panchayat revoked the construction licence the following day and also directed restoration,” the petitioner said.
The High Court, while admitting the petition on October 4, 2022, restrained further construction and made it clear that no fresh application for hill-cutting permission could be entertained until restoration of the site.
In January 2024, the Court rejected the claim that the hill had already been restored, noting that the restoration work was undertaken without the involvement or technical input of the Town Planning Department. In its June 29, 2026 report, GEC found the slope to be restored to a stable condition and recorded that the restoration complied with its technical recommendations.
