Panaji: In a major setback to state govt, Supreme Court on Monday declined to grant relief to the town and country planning (TCP) department, which had sought a stay on a high court judgment concerning the Section 17(2) matter and the two outline development plans (ODPs) of Calangute-Candolim and Arpora-Nagoa-Parra.
Supreme Court
In March, the high court struck down the rules and guidelines of the controversial Section 17(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1974, in the “public interest”. State govt challenged the order in the Supreme Court.In June, the high court set aside govt’s ODPs for five villages and directed the state to follow Regional Plan 2021 for the approval of plans and the grant of permissions in these villages.The two ODPs — Calangute-Candolim and Arpora-Nagoa-Parra — cannot operate, and the five villages of Calangute, Candolim, Arpora, Nagoa, and Parra will not be governed by them, a division bench comprising justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita Mehta ruled.Supreme Court bench comprising justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice on the special leave petitions filed by state govt and the TCP department but proceeded to order a “status quo” to be maintained, said Goa Foundation director Claude Alvares.“This in effect means that all construction activities connected with the subject matters of the two judgments — and now subject matter of the appeals filed by the state — would have to remain at a standstill till the apex court disposes of the appeals,” he said.Former Odisha high court chief justice, senior advocate S Murlidhar and senior advocate Shoeb Alam appeared for Goa Foundation in the two Section 17(2) appeals filed by Goa govt and TCP. Alvares said that the court has fixed the matter for Aug 26.“There are more than 60 respondents in the three SLPs filed by the state and TCP, since the high court judgments were passed in a batch of writ petitions and PILs, including the PILs filed by Goa Foundation,” he said.
