I, Shri Yatin Parekh, Deputy Mayor, Corporation of the City of Panaji, hereby states and submits the following:
1. Some days back, i.e. immediately after I returned from my official visit to the Mayor's Tourism Forum in China, a group of residents from Alto St. Inez and surrounding areas met me to express their apprehensions against a hotel project coming up in this residential area to the left of the Alto St. Inez junction right next to the sloping road leading to Altinho. 2. The said construction work related to a Ground + 6 storey hotel project, the permission to construct the same being granted to M/S Pentagon Developers in Plot No PTS/ Ch. No 77/190, 191/192 & 193 of Panjim City by the CCP vide its License No 4/80/TS/2005-06/108. 3. The protesting group objected to the said construction on several grounds, some of them being: a) That the said construction of the multi-storey hotel being in a residential locality, the concerned authorities should therefore not have given permission for the construction of such a huge multi-storey project in this area. b) That the said construction project, being located right at the Alto St. Inez junction would be a hindrance to the smooth flow of traffic in the area and also to the movement of residents in the locality. c) That the construction was an ecological and environmental disaster as it would involve hill cutting and was therefore likely to cause potential environmental damages leading to landslides that could pose serious threats to the homes in the vicinity and to its inhabitants. d) That various laws and norms had been flouted by the builder on construction on hill gradient, parking, etc. 4. I immediately requested the CCP Commissioner Sanjiv Gadkar to stop the said construction pending further enquiries. Being a long-standing Corporator from the St. Inez area and being born and brought up here, I can relate to the feelings of the local residents and empathize with them. The present locality is also well-known for its artistic and cultural traditions and such type of commercial construction will also tarnish the aesthetic beauty of this locality and hinder the celebrations of artistic and cultural festivities and traditions of the residents of the locality. 5. I have also inspected the plans of the said project since with the help of experts in the field of construction and I find the grievances of the protesting residents genuine. The CCP has presently stopped the construction of the Hotel Project. Also, the Construction license issued by the CCP was for a period of one year only beginning from 1st March 2006 and has thus expired. The excavation work that was commenced by the Builder/ developer was thus unauthorized and illegitimate. 6. I have written a letter requesting the CCP not to renew the said license for construction. I hereby express my support and solidarity with the people of Alto St. Inez and surrounding areas and have requested the Corporation of the City of Panaji not to allow Construction of this Hotel Project and/or any further construction activity in this area without a proper ecological and environmental study. Yours sincerely Shri Yatin Parekh Deputy Mayor, CCP
