Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: The SE-Old Panchayat today has issued a demolition order for the controversial illegal structure located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site heritage zone.
The Panchayat has directed the owner to demolish the said structure within the next 15 days failing which the Panchayat is bound to demolish the structure at any time once the said period is expired.
“In exercise of the power vested in me under section 47(ii) of The Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 and in implementation of resolution No.4(1) adopted in the meeting held on 08/02/2022 do hereby order Shri. Sumermal Jain, Corvus urban Infrastructures LLP to demolish illegal construction under survey No.4/1 of Ella village of Tiswadi Taluka within fifteen days from the receipt of this order,” the order issued by the panchayat states
The order further states that failing to act, the Village Panchayat will be compelled to demolish the same on any day after the expiry of the aforesaid period without any intimation and expenditure incurred shall be recovered from you as tax imposed under this act.
The village panchayat had earlier resolved to direct the owner of the Bungalow, Sumermal Jain of Corvus Urban Infrastructures LLP and Kranti Sadan, Kamathipura, Mumbai, to demolish the structure, at their own cost, within 15 days failing which the process would be initiated through the Deputy Collector.
The show-cause notice issued, as per resolution number 4 (1) dated January 20, 2022, was served to the owner of the controversial Bungalow on January 24 by the village panchayat secretary Ashish Naik after conducting a site inspection on January 13, 2022, and recording the panchanama in the presence of the representative of the bungalow owner and others.
Following massive protests and a fast, the TCP Department had, on December 3, 2021, asked the Panchayat to take necessary action. Before that, the department had, on November 30, last year, revoked the technical clearance granted to the original owner of the land on October 18, 2016.
The technical clearance was sought in the original owner’s name, who sold 2400 sq mts of the land to Survarna Lotlikar and 9,500 sq mts to Manish Munot.
It is to be noted that the Save Old Goa Action Committee (SOGAC) had approached the Supreme Court regarding the matter and have repeatedly called for investigations across government departments as to how the fraudulent permissions were given in the first place.
