PANAJI
The State government has conceded loopholes in the process for grant of approval for hill cutting to project proponents while strongly recommending that PDAs should carry out physical verification before granting development permission.
During the hearing, Advocate General Devidas Pangam submitted that PDAs condition to project proponent consists of obtaining permission under Section 17-A of the TCP Act, 1974, in case of hill-cutting.
However, he added, the PDAs do not verify whether hill-cutting permission is necessary at the site and insist upon the project proponent obtaining such permission from the Chief Town Planner.
“This virtually gives the discretion to the project proponent to decide whether such permission is necessary or not. Much of this issue can be sorted out if the PDAs and their officials inspect the site thoroughly before granting any development permission. For example, suppose the PDAs and their officials conclude that potential hill-cutting is involved, the PDAs must insist that such permissions under section 17-A are obtained before processing the application for development permission,” AG Pangam said.
