PANAJI
The State government’s decision to close disciplinary proceedings against retired Chief Town Planner Rajesh Naik has come under fresh judicial scrutiny, with the High Court of Bombay at Goa on Monday issuing notices to Naik, the Directorate of Vigilance and other respondents on a petition challenging the move.
The petition, filed by activist Swapnesh Sherlekar and others, challenges the legality of the Directorate of Vigilance’s order dated May 5, 2026, which dropped all disciplinary proceedings against Naik and restored his related service benefits.
The petitioners argued that the vigilance authority erred in closing the proceedings despite findings from an inquiry into the alleged under-assessment of land conversion fees under Section 17(2) of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act.
Naik was suspended after allegations emerged that land conversion fees had been deliberately under-assessed in several cases, allegedly causing a loss of crores of rupees to the State exchequer.
The controversy stems from a public interest litigation alleging deliberate under-assessment of fees for correction of land zones under Section 17(2) of the TCP Act. During the hearing of the PIL, Advocate General Devidas Pangam informed the High Court that the government had identified 46 beneficiaries whose cases allegedly involved under-assessment of conversion fees.
Following these findings, the TCP Department submitted records of all 46 cases to the Directorate of Vigilance for inquiry. The department had also taken action in some cases by cancelling land conversion permissions where the differential fees had not been paid.
Sherlekar, one of the petitioners in the original case, has consistently alleged that the TCP Department deliberately calculated conversion charges using the earlier rate of Rs 200 per sq mtrs instead of the Rs 1,000 per sq mtrs prescribed under the government notification issued on March 28, 2024. However, an inquiry later cleared the then CTP of the allegations.
