PANAJI: The hill on either side of the Panaji-Old Goa bypass is being devastated by illegal excavations for commercial development and other purposes.
Chimbel residents on Thursday complained to the town and country planning (TCP) department about yet another case of unauthorised activity.
The owner of a newly constructed house has allegedly shaved a huge portion of the steep hill slope on the southern side of the bypass near Sai Baba temple without the local panchayat's permission.
Chimbel villagers had raised the issue at gram sabhas on a couple of occasions and the panchayat had agreed to look into the matter. "The panchayat, however, didn't initiate any action and work continued," Ana
Gracias, a local activist, said.
The first hill-cutting case on the edge of a steep slope overlooking Panelim in
Ribandar, came to light last year. Authorities stopped the work a few times after locals' complaints, even as a couple of buildings sprung up at the site.
Last week, the authorities had ordered the stoppage of excavation near the same site, which lies on a 100-metre stretch on the Chimbel side of the road.
In the third case under survey No. 62, the Chimbel panchayat informed Gracias, in a reply to her query under Right To Information (RTI) Act, that no permission was granted for the hill-cutting.
When contacted on Saturday, Chimbel sarpanch
Chandrakant Kunkolkar said the complaint in the third case has been forwarded to the TCP department "We do not have any technical expertise to inspect the area," Kunkolkar told TOI. He, however, did not explain why the hill-cutting was not stopped.
Villagers have informed the TCP department about the hillcutting as well. "It appears the owner has built the house and blatantly scooped out mud from the hill to create space behind it," a local said.
The Chimbel sarpanch failed to explain why the hill-cutting was not stopped.
