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16-18, May 2008 http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-May/073789.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi All, Background: Trouble began brewing in Paradise. Trouble began brewing in otherwise quiet, sleepy Moira when P. D. Kamat of Aldona began developing a plot in Povoasaum, Moira. When aware Moidekars like Dr. Victor D'Souza, Ms. Vizilia D'Sa (Ex- Sarpanch) and the Moira Civic and Consumer Forum found myriad loopholes in the project. They went about the business of setting right the wrongs perpetrated by the builders in a very systematic manner using various legal means at hand. Their very rewarding and fruitful fight is worth emulating and is reproduced here for others to emulate. CONSTRUCTION OF 29 FLATS IN POVOACAO, MOIRA This has reference to the 29 flats that are being constructed in the area of approx. 2000 sq. mtrs. in Survey No.72/15 in Povoacao, Moira, Bardez, Goa, the property of which belongs to Dr. Cecil Clifford Anthony D'Souza of the U.K. through his attorney Mr.Gurudas Raikar of Moira who in turn has signed an agreement to develop the plot with the builder M/s P.D.Kamat of Aldona. The below mentioned information has been obtained under the Right to Information Act 2005 1. The Applicants file was given entry No.1217 on 3.1.07 in the Village Panchayat's Office in Moira. And the site inspection was fixed for 12.1.07. But on 8.1.07 the Sarpanch and the V.P. Secretary without placing the file before the elected body, prematurely forwarded the same to the Town Planner and other authorities for NOC's. Neither was the file placed before the Gram Sabha as is required for all major projects when such a resolution was passed by the Gram Sabha earlier. 2. The Ex. Sarpanch who was the Administrator and the V.P.Secretary recorded a resolution No.1 (a) on 28.3.07 and issued the construction license to the Applicant for the said project. In the light of this it is wrong and misleading to state that the resolution was approved in the meeting of the V.P.Moira as the term of the Village Panchayat had ended on 30.1.07. 3. Dy.Town Planner,Town & Country Planning Dept., Mapusa in her letter No.DB/21339/07/736 dated 8.3.07 observed ".Further that the proposed soak pit/septic tank is within 15 meters of the existing well to the adjoining property, a well existing near the pump house in the proposed site was not shown on the site plan." And hence the Dy. Town Planner requested the Administrator, Village Panchayat Moira to keep the NOC No.DB/12339/07/255, dated 2.2.07 of the Town & Country Planning Dept., Mapusa in abeyance till the applicant revised the site plan which was not heeded to by the Ex. Sarpanch and the V.P.Secretary, Moira. 4. Similarly, the Health Officer, Primary Health Centre, Aldona in his letter No. PHCA/Comp/VP-Moi/06-07/1675 dated 27.2.07 agreed that the well in Sy. 72/18 "is in close proxity to the proposed soak pit of the abovementioned construction. In this regards it is suggested that the owner should shift the location of the soak pit to the nallah side of the plot-where there is no well, on sanitation ground" which again was not heeded to by the Ex.Sarpanch and the V.P.Secretary. 5. According to the procedures all the concerned 5 Departments ought to inspect the site before issuing the NOC's/ permission for construction. It is difficult to understand how all the five departments (Town & Country Planning Dept., Public Works Dept., Primary Health Centre, Aldona, Block Development Officer, Mapusa, Electricity Dept., Village Panchayat, Moira) did not see the existing well in the property when the well is clearly shown on the Survey plan. Is this a coincidence or connivance by the authorities? 6. The Senior Town Planner, Mapusa in his letter No.21/22/MOI/TCP/08/39 dated 13.2.08 agrees as follows: "Yes, it is true that the Applicant has not shown the existing open well while obtaining the NOC dated 2.2.07 and it amounts to furnishing incorrect information and violation of condition No. 2 of the NOC". And he further adds, "the NOC issued was not revoked but kept in abeyance as it was not a major mistake and the revised site plan could be insisted and approved. And further in the same letter he says "the official of this public authority has conducted the inspection before issuing the NOC. The reason on missing out the well in the original site plan by the officer is by over sight". It is impossible that this could be an oversight by all 5 departments. 7. By furnishing false and misleading information the Applicant has violated condition No.2 and 5 of the NOC of the Town &Country Planning Dept. and condition No. 9(b) of the construction license issued by the Village Panchayat Moira. In the light of this it was mandatory by the authorities to revoke the NOC/license as stated in the NOC/license issued. Further more there is no provision to keep the NOC's/licenses in abeyance. Condition No.15 of the Town & Country Planning Dept. has also been violated as the revised site plans have not been approved by all the 5 authorities. The observations of the Town & Country Planning Dept. were: The Town Planner, TCP, Mapusa in her letter No. DB/21339/07/1758 dated 27.7.07 stated "It is noted that one of the soak pit is shown just around 14-15 mts. from the existing well within the plot. The Applicant may therefore be directed to clarify as to whether the existing well is to be filled up. It is therefore suggested that the applicant be directed to show the location of soak pit clearly 15 mts. away from the existing well……… As far as parking spaces provided in the plans, it is noted that only 21 spaces are shown in the site plan although there are vacant places available which could be utilized for parking purpose. As the proposed floor area is 1779.81 sq.mtrs. , the number of parking spaces required is 24 nos. i.e. @ one space for every 75 sq. mtrs. of floor area and part thereof. Therefore the revised site plan should clearly show the required number of parking space" The Town Planner further went to say" As per the Regional Plan for Goa 2001, the road abutting the plot is having proposed right of way of 15 mts. The approved plans also shows 7.5 mts. road widening from the center line of the existing road. Applicant has to maintain the setback, for which he is liable to demolish the compound wall which is coming within the road widening area before the Panchayat issues the occupancy certificate". Instead of 24 parking spaces, only 21 were shown thus violating condition No. 18 of the NOC of the Dy. Town Planner. The garbage site was also not shown thus violating condition No.9 of the NOC of the Dy. Town Planner. And so the Applicant was instructed to submit another revised site plan. It must be understood that, for a small village such as Moira, the housing complex of 29 flats is bound to have a major impact on the socio economic and ecological environment of a struggling, fragile farming community. The threat to our ground water resources is a very grave matter- a matter of life and death. The Moira Civic and Consumer Forum in their letter No.MCC-5/DoP-1/2007, dated 18.7.07 requested the Block Development Officer, Bardez, Goa to put a stay order on the construction activity forthwith. But he failed to acknowledge and respond to this letter 8. At the Gram Sabha meeting held on 24.6.07 it was resolved by all the Gram Sabha members except Mr. Gurudas Raikar, that the construction license should be revoked. Explanatory notes, Preamble and Proposed Resolution were presented verbally as well as in writing by a volunteer of the Moira Civic & Consumer Forum. The text was personally handed over to the Secretary, V.P.Moira. The Resolution was duly moved, seconded and passed by all the ward members and Gram Sabha members present with one exception namely Mr.Gurudas Raikar. 9. From the certified copy of the Resolution as recorded in the Gram Sabha book of minutes it was noted that the proceeding have been completely distorted and the resolution that was passed in the meeting does not appear in the minutes at all. Furthermore an Appeal No.15/2007, dated 20.7.07 by Mr. Gurudas Raikar on the "distorted resolution" is pending before the Additional Director of Panchayat I, Panaji Goa dated 20.7.2007 and a stay has been granted by the Additional Director of Panchayats I on 23.7.07 until further orders. Thereafter no hearings have taken place and my application to be made a party has not been acknowledged. This only points to the connivance of all the authorities. Meanwhile the construction continues. Revision of site plans: Interestingly as the citizens were protesting regarding the irregularities and the deficiencies of the site plans the authorities went on approving plan after plan instead of revoking the NOC/licences. In other words the authorities instead of revoking the NOC's/licenses approved 4 site plans for the same construction. 10. WELL: The builder has been drawing water from the open well in Sy.No.72/15 and using it for construction purposes. As a result the levels of water in all the surrounding wells had gone down considerably. It was only after an Appeal to State Information Commissioner under the Right to Information Act, 2005, it was revealed that the builder had not taken the permission of the Ground Water Officer, Water Resources Department, Panaji as is required by the Ground Water Regulation Act, 2002 and hence the drawal of water was considered illegal. The Executive Engineer, Electricity Department, Mapusa disconnected the service connection to the pump of the open well in Sy.No.72/15 and the builder was told not to draw water from the well. But, in spite of this the builder continues to draw water manually and use it for construction. Now it is clear why the builder did not show the presence of the well in Sy.No.72/15. If the future residents of these 29 flats are permitted to draw water from the well, the water levels of that well and all the surrounding wells are bound to be depleted and there is a serious threat that the wells will go dry. The back bone of the economy of Moira being agriculture will be affected due to the inadequate water supply which will deprive several families of their source of income. 11. Septics tanks/Soak pits: As per the Goa Health Act the soak pits/septic tanks must be 300 feet away from any existing well. And whereas the Health Officer has stated that 15 meters buffer zone is sufficient which is far less than the stipulated 300 feet . On the contrary because of the rocky terrain and very huge quantity of sewage and sullage (bath and kitchen water) from the approx. 150 persons who will be residing here and the soak pit being very small and just 15 mtrs. from the well the water in this well is bound to be contaminated the water table being one the other wells in the vicinity will also be contaminated. Two septic tanks for 100 persons each were approved by the Health Officer, Primary Health Centre Aldona for the proposed 29 flats. The PIO(who is the Health Officer) has provided information that the two soak pits/septic tanks shown in the plan are sufficient to drain the sewage and the sullage water of approx. 150 persons. However, I do not agree with this information. The ISI Manual page 18, IS: 2470 (Part-I -1985) which is used by architects of repute recommends the following size of septic tanks for housing colonies: Length 7.5 meters Breadth 2.65 meters Depth 1 meter For 100 persons In this respect, the 2 septic tanks for 100 persons each approved by the Health Officer, Primary Health Centre, Aldona does not reflect these dimensions and hence I am of the opinion that the size of the 2 septic tanks are not of sufficient volume to drain the sewage and sullage water of approx. 150 persons. Secondly, the volume of each of the 2 soak pits which are of rounded type shown on the plan are very small and insufficient, and the terrain being very rocky this will not absorb the huge amount of effluents coming from the 2 septic tanks which is bound to cause overflowing and breeding of mosquitoes. These effluents contain numerous bacteria, cysts, helminthic ova and organic matter in solution or in fine suspension and are therefore toxic and is bound to be a health hazard. It is to be noted that the soak pits of the septic tanks are designed to receive only effluents /sewage water from the septic tanks. Separate provision has to be made for drainage of the sullage water (waste water from the kitchen and bathroom) into separate soak pits. This aspect is not reflected on the site plan. It is normal practice that the sullage water (waste water from the bathroom and the kitchen) should drain into separate soak pits. Whereas the Health Officer has approved the drainage of the sullage water from the bathrooms of the 29 the flats into the 2 soak pits of the septic tanks which is not acceptable the volume of which will be huge and bound to cause water logging and be a health hazard . The Health Officer has also approved the drainage of the kitchen waste water into "sufficient number of soak pits". But these soak pits are not shown on the third and the latest revised plan. It should be made mandatory for the builder to drain the sullage water into separate soak pits clearly 15 mtrs. away from the existing and the surrounding wells which must be reflected on the site plan. We all are aware of the pollution of the ground water in the entire coastal belt of Goa resulting from the indiscriminate and thoughtless authorsation of septic tanks/soak pits and it should be our endeavor to prevent a similar situation in Moira. It is my contention that the in builder should not be permitted the use of ground soaking pits for septic tanks and sullage out flows as these will not absorb all the waste water resulting water logging. There does not exist a code for the construction of soak pits for multistoried complexes in the State of Goa and therefore these are constructed in a haphazard manner. This argument is all the more relevant as the builder of the above mentioned 29 flats is also the builder of another 3 building complexes situated in Moira and in all cases the soak pits have got water logged. In the case of Romalina Classic the builder has cut the road and drained the effluents into another soak pit dug in the communidade field. In the other case the occupants of Shamburaj Appartments approached the builder for a solution but he has evaded them and they had no other alternative but to dig fresh soak pits every time the previous one was water logged. And hence in my opinion multistoried housing complexes should not be permitted in villages because of the fragile ecosystem…………. The Government should direct all existing multistoried complexes having problems of overflowing soak pits to have Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) in the interest of the citizen's health. [FN could you please help disseminate this through your contacts?] -- Tony de Sa Ph: +91 832 2470148 E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] M: +91 9975 162 897 ----------------------------------------------------------- It may be that all games are silly, But then so are humans - Robert Lynd ------------------------------------------------------------