Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Goa Congress president Girish Chodankar has alleged a potential ₹2,147 crore revenue loss to the state exchequer after the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department granted additional Floor Area Ratio (FAR) to commercial establishments without levying fees.
Chodankar said the issue has been highlighted in the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, which noted that 321 commercial establishments were granted additional FAR without charges being collected.
According to the Congress leader, the CAG calculated the revenue implication at around ₹107 crore based on one applicable rate. However, the potential loss could rise to ₹2,147 crore if the rate of ₹20,000 per square metre, applicable to four- and five-star hotels, were considered.
Chodankar questioned how such a large amount of revenue could allegedly go uncollected and demanded accountability from the government. He further alleged that if the state had suffered a loss of this magnitude, there should be an investigation into where the money had gone.
“If the government has suffered a loss of ₹2,147 crore, then ₹1,000 crore must have gone into someone’s pocket,” Chodankar alleged, calling for scrutiny of the TCP department’s decisions.
The Congress has sought accountability over the grant of additional FAR and demanded that the government clarify the financial implications and the action proposed on the CAG findings.
