Blanket change of land zones done under Sec 17 (2): Probe

Panaji: From blanket alteration of zones to completely ignoring the nature of land while deciding on conversions for the convenience of the landowners, the directorate of vigilance has found a series of blatant violations while investigating the underassessment of fees for land under Section 17 (2) of the TCP Act.The investigation revealed that the expert committee of the TCP department, chaired by chief town planner Rajesh Naik who was suspended on Wednesday, completely ignored the zones identified in Regional Plans of 2001 and 2021.It also found the alterations were approved without adhering to the universal standard criteria to be adopted for the preparation of the Regional Plan.The directorate of vigilance said that zones in the Regional Plan are identified considering the geology of the state and the need to balance development with ecology.The investigation revealed that Naik recommended proposals for the correction of zones without site inspections, reports from the forest department, or meeting other requirements. The proposals were nevertheless approved.The investigation indicated that despite properties being surrounded by green vegetation, direct conversion to settlement zones was recommended by the committee. In some cases, the expert committee did not provide a clear reasoning.The directorate of vigilance found that partly cultivable land with the Command Area Development Authority (Cada) of the water resources department, Cada land with partial natural cover, and lands that were partly crematoriums were converted into settlement zones. These conversions were made without obtaining comments from the water resources department.The vigilance inquiry was initiated after advocate general Devidas Pangam informed the high court that govt found 46 cases of zone changes where the fees were underassessed by the TCP department. He also told the court that the report would be submitted to it in a sealed cover.Following the inquiry, the TCP department submitted the files related to 46 cases of underassessment of fees to the directorate of vigilance. The TCP department also passed some orders for the cancellation of land conversion due to the failure to pay the difference amount in conversion fees.One of the petitioners challenging the underassessment, Swapnesh Sherlekar, alleged that the TCP department deliberately undervalued the fees for the correction of zones under Section 17(2) of the TCP Act by applying the old rate of Rs 200 per sqm instead of Rs 1,000 per sqm as stipulated by the new notification of March 28, 2024.