Times of India: Pernem: Saturday,
February 01, 2014.
Fake licences
produced by an organized gang has been fuelling the construction boom for the
past decade in the coastal belt of Morjim, Mandrem and Arambol in north Goa.
The fake licence racket not only allowed constructions but has permitted hill
cutting and CRZ violations.
TOI investigations
revealed that since 2009 more than 70% of the commercial projects in
Morjim-hotels, restaurants and other structures-have come up based on fake
licences.
Sources said
that the racket is being managed by a trio from Agarwada, Mandrem and Morjim,
in connivance with the police and other concerned government departments. The
panchayat letter head and rubber stamp used to generate the fake documents have
been produced in Belgaum.
Sources said
that police involvement includes acting as goons to suppress any person raising
his voice against an illegality by harassing him at the behest of the fake
licence agents.
Sources said
that government officials, who supported the racket directly, had been offered
huge bribes and some were also flown abroad on holiday.
With no check
on them and their illegal activities, the agents have spread out and are also
providing fake documents in the name of Mandrem and Arambol panchayats.
In one
instance of fake documents, an FIR has been lodged at Pernem police station,
based on a complaint filed by RTI activist Shamsundar Kerkar.
Kerkar had
sought information under RTI on a particular construction of a compound wall
that began recently and was informed that Morjim panchayat had not issued any
licence for the construction.
Kerkar was
informed that records of permission for erection/re-erection of a building
granted at Nirakar Bhatle in Gawdewada and dated April 5, 1982, signed by the
Morjim sarpanch and panchayat secretary were not available with the panchayat.
The panchayat said the names of the sarpanch and secretary, given as Ratnakant
V Shetgaonkar and M M Gawas respectively, did not figure in their records. This
actually means that Shetgaonkar and Gawas were never sarpanch and secretary of
Morjim panchayat.
Police, in
turn, sought information from the panchayat and the latter denied it had ever
given a NOC or licence for the construction. The panchayat submitted to Pernem
police that "no resolution has been passed by the panchayat in respect to
reconstruction and renovation of existing retaining walls from the period from
October 19, 1981 to March 31, 1982".
Sources said
the panchayat has maintained records from the year 1968 and that it is
mandatory by law to have a resolution passed by the panchayat before granting
permission/construction licence for reconstruction or renovation.
Police have
filed an FIR against Ponda resident Sameer Lad for forging the NOC/licence for
construction of compound wall by misusing the official letter head and stamp of
Morjim panchayat and for having constructed the compound wall by producing the
forged documents as genuine before governments departments.
The issue of
illegal constructions in tenanted proprieties by furnishing fake documents was
raised by local activist Prasad Shahapurkar in 2009 but this was ignored and
the illegalities kept flourishing.
The fake
licences are also depriving the government of revenue amounting to crores of
rupees. If a construction licence is issued the owner of the property bypasses
the rule to convert the land in non-agricultural land causing loss to the
exchequer. The conversion fee is Rs 250 per s m. In this particular case the
government lost revenue of Rs 30 lakh in the form of legal fees.
.JPG)
.JPG)
