Letter will form basis of writ petition to be filed before High Court
Justice Ferdino Rebello addressing a public meeting held at Margao on Thursday to explain the 10-point charter of demands.
MARGAO
Upping the ante against illegal hill cutting and filling of low-lying lands in Goa, retired Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, Justice Ferdino Rebello, on Thursday announced plans at a public meeting on Thursday to write to the Secretary of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Board and the Chief Town Planner (Land Use), to immediately stop the grant of permissions for hill/slope cutting and land filling, irrespective of gradient, citing the absence of legally framed rules.
The letter, scheduled to be sent on Friday, will also demand that the authorities issue stop-work notices for all ongoing projects where such permissions have already been granted, and suspend approvals in cases where occupancy certificates have not yet been issued.
Justice Rebello said the letter would form the basis of a writ petition to be filed before the High Court. “We will not wait for the government’s response. The letter itself will be the foundation of our writ petition,” he told the media, adding that a senior Mumbai-based lawyer has agreed to take up the matter”, he said, adding that the legal action would significantly aid villagers of Sancoale who are opposing large-scale housing projects.
The draft letter was ratified at a well-attended public meeting held at the MCC Hall in Margao on Thursday evening, where participants unanimously gave Justice Rebello the go-ahead to proceed.
In the letter, Justice Rebello has warned that all officers involved in granting such permissions would be held personally liable, particularly for allegedly suppressing before the High Court the fact that approvals were earlier granted strictly on the basis of Survey of India (SOI) topographical sheets. “The people of Goa have demanded disciplinary action against officers who have actively connived in granting permissions contrary to the SOI topographical sheets, and this matter will be pursued before all competent authorities unless immediate corrective steps are taken,” the letter states.
Pointing out that the Amended Section 17A and 178 had given powers to the Chief Town Planner for cutting hilly land or filling up of any low lying land, Justice Rebelllo, however, said that till date no rules have been made under Section 140 of the Planning Act prescribing the manner in which the Chief Town Planner (Land Use can grant permission. Similarly, he said no notification has been issued by the Government in exercise of its executive power under Article 154 and Articles 166 of the Constitution of India.
“Surprisingly it appears that a resolution was passed under Item No 5 at the 90th meeting of the Town & Country Planning Board dated December 15, 2000 whereby guidelines were framed for cutting of hill slopes. Section 17A has not conferred any power on the Town & Country Planning Board to issue guidelines. The guidelines therefore issued on December 15, 2000 at the 90th meeting of the Town & Country Planning Board are illegal”, he said.
On January 27, 2010, he said a document styled as Explanatory Memorandum on Section 17 A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1974 was signed by the Chief Town Planner with reference to Section 17A of the Planning Art, clearly set out therein that a slope analysis of the hill will be based on the contour-data (which is obtained from the maps prepared by the Surveyor General of India. “These maps are restricted maps used by the department. It also set out how the slope is to be calculated for working out the 25% gradient. It was specifically set out that a slope analysis is totally based on the SOI topographical sheet which is an authenticated document of the Government of India. This practice of granting permissions under the SOI topographical sheet was being followed”, he said.
On September 6, 2023, the letter pointed out that the Chief Town Planner (Land User) placed before the TCP Board in its 189th meeting held on August 11, 2023 guidelines for cutting of sloping land under Section 17A of the Planning Act. “This appears to have been approved with Note 36/1/TCP/497/2023/2581 dated August 28, 2023. This again is illegal as the TCP Board had no power to issue the guidelines for giving effect to the provisions of Section 17A Also the revised guidelines did not provide for giving a go-by for calculating the slope analysis as approved on January 29, 2010 as Explanatory Memorandum on Section 17-A of the Planning Act”, he added.
“I am given to understand that after the purported order dated September 6, 2023, which is illegal and ultra vires Section 17A of the Planning Act, gradients are being calculated not based on the SOI topographical sheet, but on private contour documents filed by architects This is totally illegal and appears to be a clear case of quid pro quo”, he said.
