Daijiworld Media Network – Panaji

Panaji, Jun 21: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Thursday issued notices to the state government, the Secretary of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department, the TCP department itself, the Directorate of Vigilance, and a former chief town planner in a petition challenging the alleged illegal waiver of fees under the controversial Section 17(2) of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act.

Filed by activist Swapnesh Sherlekar, the petition claims that fees for corrections in land zoning were waived on dubious grounds — particularly citing “deletion of proposed road fee is not applicable” — despite no statutory basis for such exemptions.

Section 17(2), introduced in 2023, permits zone corrections in the Regional Plan 2021 for privately owned plots, ostensibly to rectify inadvertent zoning errors. However, the petition highlights that while fees were officially notified in March 2023, exemptions were granted arbitrarily, including in cases allegedly linked to TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane.

Sherlekar alleges that several properties, including those owned by Minister Rane, benefitted from unauthorized fee waivers, accusing the authorities of acting with “mala fide intent and arbitrariness.” The petition also raises concerns about widespread abuse under this provision, calling for scrutiny of numerous similar cases since the Act's amendment.

While acknowledging the allegations linked to Rane, the High Court refrained from issuing a notice to him at this stage. Notices have been sent to the other named respondents, who have been asked to file their responses within three weeks.