Team Goemkarponn
The conflict between the Indian Navy and the Mormugao Planning and Development Authority (MPDA) over construction norms near Dabolim airport has simmered for years, with multiple flashpoints involving unclear regulations and jurisdictional overlap.
Back in September 2018, Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho had urged the Navy to provide a definitive demarcation plan—complete with height limits and clear drawings—to enable MPDA implement the restrictions with consistency.
Godinho argued that without transparent zoning, residents were left in uncertainty over what construction was permissible. He had also pointed out the practical hardships faced by locals unable to build on their own land while awaiting clearances.
During the same period, Godinho had defended the deputy sarpanch of Chicalim Panchayat, accusing a “bogus NGO with vested interests” of spreading misinformation and attempting to malign the panchayat’s reputation.
The issue escalated further in 2020, when the MPDA, under its then chairman and then Cuncolim MLA Clafasio Dias, resolved to approach the Supreme Court against the Navy’s directive mandating a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for any construction within a 4-km radius of the airport.
Dias had stated that this blanket clause affected almost the entire Mormugao taluka, leaving hardly any space for legal construction. He also questioned the Navy’s own high-rise constructions near the airbase and demanded records and permissions for the same.
A decision to legally challenge the 4-km NOC clause was approved in an MPDA meeting that included key ministers and MLAs, setting the stage for a prolonged institutional stand-off.
