GOVERNMENT,TRUST LAY CLAIM ON PRIME LAND IN MIRAMAR

The department of science and technology and a private trust have both laid claim to a plot at Miramar close to the land earmarked for an ocenarium. The North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) and Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), on the other hand, are blaming each other for giving licence to Sai Baba Family Trust to start work on a residential-cum-commercial building at the site.
“It is an encroachment on our property,” Michael D’Souza, director science and technology department, told after an inspection of the site. “We will file a detailed complaint to the police attaching the inspection report,” he said.
NGPDA member secretary Ashok Kumar said the approval has now lapsed, but it had been granted based on a provisional outline development plan (ODP). “It is up to the CCP to check property documents while granting construction licence,” he added. But CCP commissioner Elvis Gomes said they had issued it on the basis of approvals granted by NGPDA.
“The permission was valid till 26 October, 2009—three years after it was granted,” Kumar said. “He (promoter of the trust) submitted a letter for renewal on October 23, 2009, but it cannot be renewed as it is an institutional area. However, Shyam Luthria, one of the trustees said, “It is my property, and I have purchased it through a sale deed from the owner, and it is registered before the registrar of Panaji.” When pointed out that NGPDA has stated that approval granted by it has lapsed, he said. “It was a prior commitment, and I have made commitments to my clients on the basis of that,” adding that he would take action as directed by his legal advisors.
When pointed out that the approval was provisional and subject to finalization of the ODP, Luthria said, “They may say many things now, but these are legal issues.”