Petrol pump in Calangute

PANJIM: There is a ray of hope for the residents in the tourist belt of North Goa. Their demand for a petrol pump in the vicinity may soon become a reality if the Technical Officer, Public Works Department shows the green signal.

The Division bench of Justice FI Rebello and Justice NA Britto has asked M/S Reira Petro Services Pvt. Ltd, which intends to start a petrol pump at Calangute to make a fresh application to Technical Officer, Assistant Engineer, Sub-Division III, PWD (III), Mapusa, for occupancy certificate. The Technical Officer has to decide the matter within 7 days, the Court added.

The Court passed this order after the counsel for the Technical Officer, SR Rivonkar informed the Court that Calangute panchayat, which had forwarded an application for occupancy certificate made by M/S Reira Petro Services Pvt. Ltd to the Technical Officer, had withdrawn it and therefore they have no application with them.



The residents of Calangute, Candolim, Anjuna, Arpora, Baga and Saligao have been demanding for a petrol pump in the vicinity since 2001. Finally, in 2004, Calangute panchayat passed a resolution to grant provisional permission in survey no. 119/9 in Gaura vaddo, Calangute in the property of the petitioner -- M/S Reira Petro Services Pvt. Ltd.



Soon after, the petitioner is appointed as the franchisee of Essar Oil Limited and obtains no objection certificates from Chief Town Planner, District Magistrate, SP (North), Calangute panchayat and even Chief Controller of Explosives, Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization, Mumbai.



However, soon after the NOCs are obtained, the petitioner alleged that the Calangute MLA writes a letter to the Town and Country Planning minister in July 7, 2005 regarding the petrol pump. The next day, oral instructions are issued to stop work and later various state government and panchayat authorities, which had granted NOCs, keep the same in abeyance.

Giving into the repeated demands made by the people, the Chief Town Planner informs the District Magistrate on December 2006 that the government in public interest has decided to allow the project and the letter asking them to keep NOC in abeyance is withdrawn.

However, due to the delay, the petitioners lost out on the franchise of Essar and later managed to get franchise from BPCL. Though the pump is ready, the petitioner couldn't occupy the pump in the absence of an occupancy certificate from the Technical Officer and therefore approached the High Court.