- TCP acted on complaints from the villagers who pointed out that technical clearance was granted to the hotel project without looking at the required width of the access road, besides objections to the widening of the road affecting their properties
- TCP then requested PWD to submit the latest status report on the proposed land acquisition for taking up the widening of the road
- In its reply, PWD stated that the administration approval and expenditure sanction from the government was not yet accorded for the land acquisition, and further proceedings cannot be initiated
- In light of this, TCP pointed out that the government has decided to review the technical clearance order granted to the hotel project as the land acquisition process had not proceeded further, and that the road widening would not be feasible in the near future
After months of sustained agitation, Curtorkars have finally won the battle against the controversial 85-room hotel project by M/s Ira Exotica Pvt Ltd that was proposed at Vetnem in the village.
More than 15 months after technical clearance was accorded to the controversial 85-room hotel project in Curtorim that subsequently drew the ire of Curtorkars, the Town and Country Planning department has finally revoked the clearance on a single ground that the road serving the plot does not have the required width of eight metres.
Given that the Curtorim village Panchayat had granted construction license for the hotel project based on the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department's technical clearance, sources in the TCP said the panchayat will now have no option but to revoke the construction license granted for the project.
“As the road serving the plot does not have the required width of eight metres for the construction of the hotel as required under the regulations, and since the road widening proposed by the PWD is not practical in the near future, the conditional technical clearance dated June 26, 2014 issued by this office cannot sustain in the given circumstance,” stated Town Planner, R M Borkar.
TCP's order is based on the PWD reply that the development of the required eight metre wide road is not feasible at this stage, and on assessing the fact that the widening of the road to eight metre width would not take place in the near future.
In his two-page revocation order, the Town Planner pointed out that the government has decided to review the technical clearance order granted to the hotel project as the land acquisition process has not yet proceeded further and on finding that the road widening would not be feasible in the near future.
The TCP’s action comes after the office received complaints from Curtorkarancho Ekvott and others, including residents of the locality, stating that technical clearance has been granted to the hotel project without having the required width of the access road, besides objections to the widening of the road affecting their properties.
Accordingly, the TCP requested the PWD Assistant Engineer to submit the latest status report on the proposed land acquisition for taking up the widening of the road. The PWD vide letter dated November 3, 2014 informed the TCP that the administration approval and expenditure sanction from the government was not yet accorded for the land acquisition, and therefore further proceedings on this count cannot be initiated.
The controversial hotel project had kicked up a storm in the village, with the locals taking out a candlelight procession against the project, that culminated in a resolution adopted at the Curtorim gram sabha dated October 26, 2014, wherein the members rejected the project with overwhelming majority.
Villagers opposing the hotel project had contended that Curtorim does not have land for rural housing for the poorer section and future generations; that the village is endowed with steep hill slopes, agricultural lands, lakes and fields, while calling for preserving of the eco-sensitive lands for the future generation.
The villagers had further argued that the village does not have garbage, sewage roads, electricity, water and other infrastructure for large projects.
of events
*TCP grants technical clearance for the hotel on June 26, 2014
*M/s Ira Exotica Ltd applies for license on July 1, 2014
*Curtorim panchayat resolves to issue the license on July 18, 2014
*Panchayat secretary issues the license on July 21, 2014
*Curtorim grams sabha rejects the license on October 10, 2014
*Sarpanch issues show cause notice to Ms Ira on November 21, 2014 for revocation of license
*TCP issues show cause notice on December 31, 2014 for revocation of technical clearance
*TCP finally revokes the technical clearance nine months later on September 29, 2015.
