Will seek stop to hill cutting permissions: Justice Rebello

Margao: Retired chief justice of the Allahabad high court Justice Ferdino Rebello on Thursday said he will submit a letter to the TCP department on Friday, seeking to stop permissions for hill/slope cutting and filling of low-lying areas irrespective of gradient, as there are no rules in force under the Planning Act for TCP to grant such permissions since 1997.Addressing a hall full of people from South Goa in Margao, at his third “Enough is enough” public meeting, Rebello said that, to date, no rules were made under the Planning Act prescribing the manner in which the chief town planner (land use) can grant permissions for hill cutting and land filling under Section 17A of the TCP Act.He added that Section 17A of the TCP Act did not confer any power on the TCP Board to issue guidelines for cutting of hills and, therefore, the guidelines issued on Dec 15, 2000, by the TCP Board are illegal.He said he will approach the court over the issue, and the petition is in the process of being drafted.“According to me, no permissions could be granted for hill cutting since 1997, but what is done cannot be undone, so we are going to ask for a stay of those constructions where constructions did not start and where occupancy certificates were not given,” Rebello told presspersons after the meeting.He called on people to join the peaceful movement to protect Goa’s ecology and create a strong organisation at the grassroots level. He appealed to people to share pictures of paddy fields, whether tenanted or not, being used for non-agricultural purposes, along with survey numbers, and assured he will fight against this.