Activists welcome stay on mega-housing project in Goa

PANAJI - Activists opposed to mega projects in Goa have welcomed the central environment ministry’s order keeping a massive DLF-backed housing project in the state in abeyance following a writ petition in the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court.

The activists had earlier alleged that Chief Minister Digambar Kamat was responsible for the massive irregularities in granting permissions for the housing project which envisages 600 top-of-the-range homes in an ecologically sensitive area.

In a pressnote issued here, Goa Bachao Abhiyaan (GBA), an umbrella organisation representing more than a dozen planned development-oriented NGOs, has hailed the ministry order staying all constructions of the DLF promoted project, allegedly built illegally on a hill slope after felling hundreds of trees.

“GBA and Save our Slopes have petitioned the government to institute an enquiry into the illegal permissions given under the ‘deemed’ clause and to fix responsibility and take punitive action against the erring officers,” GBA convenor Sabina Martins said in the note.

The ministry’s order comes in the wake of a writ filed by Goa Foundation and Edwin Mascarenhas against Saravati Builders (executing the DLF project), in which the ministry is also a respondent.

In its order of April 15 (obtained by GBA earlier this week), Bharat Bhushan, director (impact assessment) in the ministry, said that issues raised in the writ petition relating to destruction of forest area and destruction of ecologically sensitive habitat were serious.

“The above issues are important and require detailed re-examination of the project. In the meantime, you are directed not to proceed for the construction of the group housing project in the aforesaid plot, till a detailed examination of all issues raised in the writ petition are re-examined by the expert appraisal committee,” the order stated, adding that environmental clearance given to the project Jan 11 this year have been kept in abeyance.

GBA earlier alleged that the role of Kamat - who is also the minister for town and country planning - in the DLF project was “full of suspicion, especially the manner in which permissions were given to DLF by his department”.

Kamat has dismissed these allegations, stating that he had done nothing wrong.