Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Puneet Kumar Goel, the former chief secretary, has denied that he corrected the zone in accordance with Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act 17(2). Additionally, he has denied knowing of any purported building on the land he purchased in Aldona after turning it into a community.
Goel in his affidavit filed before the High Court of Bombay at Goa, has stated that in October 2023, he sold his flat at Gurgaon for Rs 3.10 crore and decided to invest the said amount in buying a residential property in the State since he had plans to settle down in Goa after he retires from government service.
According to Goel, in April 2024, Antonio Cruz, a real estate agent in Goa, told him about the Aldona property for sale. They were prepared to sell as long as they received a competitive price. Cruz was questioned, and it was discovered that the house on the site was constructed back in 1973 and that it is a settlement property.
By sale deed recorded on July 5, 2024, he paid Rs 2.60 crore to Cyril Philip Mendonca for the 1,874 square meter property in the village of Aldona bearing Survey No 36/1.
However, while registering the selling deed, he discovered that it contained flaws because it mentioned the publication of a public notice on March 11, 2024. “Not mentioning the details of the house in the same property and the details of the house was another serious mistake,” Goel said.
He claimed that prior to meeting Cruz, he knew nothing about the house property or its owners. Consequently, it refutes the petitioner’s accusations.
Jose Maria Miranda of Borda-Margao, Bardez, and Direndra Phadte of Ecoxim had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) writ suit contesting the land that Goel had purchased in Aldona after turning it into a settlement. The two have pleaded for the authorities to be ordered to clear the paddy field of the “illegal” buildings and return it to its original state.
The next hearing on the subject is scheduled for December 6.
