PANAJI
Amidst ongoing issues surrounding illegal hill cutting and plotting, the Minister for Town and Country Planning (TCP) Vishwajit Rane on Wednesday announced that no new applications for hill cutting would be entertained pending finalisation of new guidelines and amendment to the TCP Act.
Addressing a press conference, Rane also said that he decided to review all the permissions given to DLF’s Reis Magos project and Noida-based realty firm Bhutani infrastructure in Sancoale and if found in violation, then the same would be declared invalid. He also said that the permissions to these two projects were granted before he took over as TCP Minister
“I reiterate that not a single permission of hill cutting has been issued by my department in the last more than six months. Have asked the department not to process any applications for hill cutting till new guidelines or amendments are in place,” Rane said.
“We are going as per law ... one needs to verify the permissions before pointing fingers at us..we are giving permissions based on TCP Act... Areas are converted into settlement since 2003… some in 2011…2012… I mean to say these things of conversion were before I became Minister and as per ODP that was approved at that time,” he added.
The Minister said that he has called for all the files pertaining to Bhutani and DLF projects and is under review.
“As far as Bhutani project… I called for all the documents... conversion was done during the old ODP of Vasco and permissions are based on that… around 27,850 square mt land was given in 2002 … We have not given any permission for hill cutting or forest clearance … have asked forest team under DCF to inspect,” he clarified.
On the DLF front, he said that “here too permissions were given before I took over as Minister”.
“All the permissions are being reviewed … if they are as per rule and regulation we will honour them… if found anything in violation we will take action … the permissions would be declared invalid,” he said.
