Expert panel tells hotel firm to restore hill at Bambolim

Panaji: The Goa State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) has issued directions to the Worldwide Resorts and Entertainment to restore the excavated portion of the hill and the wall along the road at Bambolim.

The directions are based on recommendations given by Goa College of Engineering (GEC), after an on-site survey found that gaps were beginning to develop in the soil, which could affect the road and the structures next to the plot excavated by Worldwide Resorts and Entertainment.The SEAC said that the backfilling or refilling of the excavated portion of the hill and the section along the road must be done in the presence of GEC experts.The committee held that Worldwide Resorts and Entertainment’s undertook excavating at the site without the requisite permissions.The town and country planning department and the Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (Goa SEIAA) issued a stop work order in May, asking the company to stop work on its project at Bambolim. The TCP department said that the company failed to obtain the necessary environmental clearances for the construction of the hotel.RG MLA Viresh Borkar filed a complaint with the TCP and the directorate of panchayats, claiming that the company violated norms while constructing the hotel at Bambolim.