Panaji: Supreme Court has issued notice to state govt and others on a petition filed by Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) challenging Bhutani Infra’s project in Sancoale.A bench of CJI B R Gavai and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohan condoned the delay and granted GBA leave to file a special leave petition.In Nov 2024, the Bombay HC had dismissed GBA’s PIL challenging the technical clearance, construction licence and plan approvals granted by the town and country planning (TCP) department and the Mormugao Planning and Development Authority (MPDA) for Acqua Eden, a project of multi-family villas and swimming pools in Sancoale. The project is being developed by Parmesh Constructions, also known as Bhutani Infra.The high court held that the PIL lacked merit and found the objections to the project unsubstantiated. It observed that the technical objections raised by GBA were unsupported by concrete material. GBA subsequently filed a review petition.Dismissing the review petition, a bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita Mehta said it had examined in detail the discrepancies alleged in the computation of slope levels and concluded that the contour plans were based on on-site surveys conducted using total station survey methods, which have an accuracy level of 90-95% compared with Survey of India topographical sheets.The high court also held that the alleged technical flaws, including claimed violations of the Building Regulations, 2010, and statutory provisions, were insufficient to invalidate permissions granted by the competent authorities.In its PIL, GBA had sought the appointment of an independent expert committee to investigate alleged illegal hill-cutting and regulatory lapses in the project. It argued that the petition was filed in the larger public interest to protect the environment and future generations of Sancoale residents. GBA also contended that allowing the project to proceed would cause irreparable damage as it was being undertaken with environmental violations and fraudulent representations to secure permissions.
