PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has pulled up the Chief Town Planner for repeatedly failing to file an affidavit in a petition concerning an alleged Rs 107.36-crore revenue loss arising from the non-levy of additional Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and height permission fees.
After noting that the State had already been granted two opportunities to file its reply, the Division Bench of Justices Valmiki Menezes and Hiten Venegavkar granted a final extension, warning that the CTP would be personally summoned and heavy costs imposed if the affidavit is not filed within the next two weeks.
The order also recorded that the Additional Government Advocate sought more time to file the affidavit, and that similar requests were made on April 6 and June 8, 2026. No affidavit was filed despite the extensions.
The State, during the hearing, further informed the Court that, despite repeated reminders to Respondent No. 3, the CTP, no instructions had been received to prepare and file the affidavit.
“We put Respondent No. 3 to notice that if within further two weeks no affidavit is filed, then he should personally remain present and this Court intends to impose heavy costs for non-implementation of this Court's order,” the Bench observed while taking note of the submission.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on August 18, along with connected public interest litigation.
The petition, filed by Uday Chari, alleged that the TCP Department failed to recover mandatory fees for granting additional FAR and height permissions to luxury commercial establishments, resulting in a massive loss to the State exchequer.
According to the petition, a government notification dated December 22, 2016, prescribed a fee of Rs 20,000 per sq mtrs for granting additional FAR and height permissions, with payment required within 30 days of the demand note.
However, information obtained under the Right to Information Act allegedly revealed that permissions were granted to several four-star and five-star hotels without first recovering the mandatory charges.
The alleged lapse was highlighted by the Accountant General (Audit), Goa, which reported on June 9, 2025, that the State had suffered a minimum revenue loss of Rs 107.36 crore due to the non-levy of the prescribed fees.
The petition further stated that while the then officiating CTP informed the Accountant General that the dues would be recovered retrospectively, the TCP Department subsequently issued a corrigendum on July 23, 2025, reducing the rate to Rs 1,000 per sq mtrs on a case-to-case basis. Chari challenged the decision as arbitrary and contrary to the statutory framework.
Official correspondence dated March 18, 2026, cited in the petition states that only Rs 17.24 crore had been recovered out of the Rs 107.36 crore, leaving around Rs 90 crore still outstanding.
Chari also sought directions from the High Court for the recovery of the remaining amount from the beneficiaries or the responsible officials, as well as disciplinary and criminal action against those allegedly involved.
