Maharashtra minister’s hotel at Calangute runs into trouble
Panchayat Moves High Court To Stall Occupancy Papers
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The Calangute panchayat has approached the high court of Bombay at Goa seeking to stall the occupancy certificate issued to Maharashtra revenue minister Narayan Rane’s apartment resort in Goa—Neelam’s The Grand. The panchayat’s contention is that the occupancy certificate was issued “by the panchayat secretary by manipulating and fabricating the minutes”.
Neelam Hotels Pvt Ltd had obtained a construction license on October 11, 2006 and the occupancy certificate was issued on March 13, 2008. A fortnight later, on March 27, the panchayat issued a letter revoking the occupancy certificate stating that according to their records it was found that the occupancy certificate had been issued, “without taking (a) resolution and fabricating and manipulating (the) panchayat minutes book”.
The occupancy certificate was revoked after panchas called a special meeting on March 24, 2008 and resolved that there being, “fabrication and fraud played and hence the minutes stand cancelled and with that all the permissions, licenses, NOC and occupancy certificates is-sued on the basis of these minutes shall stand cancelled”.
The letter to the hotel said, “You are directed not to use the permission/certificate issued to you and any act done on the basis of the same shall be illegal.” A similar letter was sent again in April. ‘Papers fudged during chaos’
Panaji: The Calangute panchayat has moved the Bombay high court at Goa to stall the occupancy certificate of Neelam’s The Grand, a resort owned by Maharashtra revenue minister Narayan Rane.
Calangute sarpanch Joseph Sequeira said that there was a “collapse of the panchayat administration” due to the noconfidence motions passed against the sarpanch and deputy sarpanch between October 2007 and March 15, 2008 and the meeting of February 28 being adjourned without any business being transacted.
“On this day when there was chaos and confusion, minority members of the panchayat with the help of the panchayat secretary and administrator manipulated the records and issued an occupancy certificate to the Neelam Hotels,” said Sequeira. This was done two days before the election of a new sarpanch and deputy sarpanch.
However, events took another turn, when on April 2 the additional director of panchayat passed an ex-parte order under section 178 of Goa Panchayat Raj Act and stayed the panchayat letter and restrained them from taking further action. An upset panchayat on May 14 filed a complaint before the director of panchayats “against the illegality and fabrication of minutes of the panchayat by the secretary and administrator holding charge”. As the director of panchayats refrained from taking action, the panchayat has now filed a petition in the high court challenging the order passed by the additional director of panchayats.
Arvinder Chopra, CEO of Neelam Hotels, said, “The matter is sub-judice and is pending with the director of panchayats and, therefore, I am not in a position to comment.”
Interestingly, in one of the documents filled by Neelam Hotels, they have stated that the use of the property as per ODP/ZP/RP is “settlement” and intended use of the proposed development is “residential”.
September 12, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Friday, September 12, 2008
‘3 mines sans permits operate in pvt forests’
‘3 mines sans permits operate in pvt forests’
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Of the five mining leases in the state, whose areas include private forests, three are operating without necessary environmental permissions.
In an affidavit filed last month in the high court of Bombay at Goa, chief conservator of forests Shashi Kumar admitted that the mining leases of Hyder Kassim Khan in Sulcorna, Dr P R Hede in Collem, Kundu Gharse in Tudou, Quexeva Cundo and Hiralal Kholidas in Colamba have private forests within them. He, however, added that, ‘no mining activities are going on in these identified private forest areas’.
However, officials from the forest department say that ‘Kunda Gharse, Quexeva Cundo and Hiralal Kholidas are operating without necessary clearances’. Admitting that the three mines are indeed operating without permission from the ministry of environment and forests, Kumar said, “This will attract the forest conservation Act, as the mine operators have to take necessary permission before starting operations.”
Though the mining lobby claims this has not resulted in any destruction of private forests, environmentalists say that if there is a private forest in any portion of the lease area, no mining operations can be conducted without permission from the ministry of environment and forests under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, (FCA). A fact, which the mining lobby also agrees with, but find ways to circumvent.
Goa Mineral Ore Exporters’ Association (GMOEA) executive director S Sridhar says that often a mine owner is not aware of areas that have been demarcated as private forests.
“As the private forest area is not clearly demarcated, we may start operating in such an area. But once we are intimated about the private forest by the forest department, we then can operate only with permission,” said Sridhar.
What Sridhar means is that if a mine owner obtains a lease to mine in 80 hectares of land, of which 10 hectares have been demarcated as private forest, then they can continue mining without necessary clearances till such time the forest department intimates the lease holder about the demarcated private forest area.
“Mining companies often escape by claiming that they are not working in the forested portion of the lease. However, the law states that whether one is working in the forested part of the lease or on the non-forested part is irrelevant since the lease requires clearance,” said Goa Foundation director Claude Alvares.
The irony is that if the mine owner during this period has destroyed the private forest area due to his alleged ‘ignorance’, there is no penalty other than the lease holder having to stop operations until the required clearance is obtained.
“If the ministry of Environment and Forest wants to grant clearance under FCA 1980, the party must cough up the costs of compensatory afforestation and the Net Present Value of the entire forest on the lease. This can mean a lot of money. The only offence that can be registered against the operators is under the trees Act, which attracts a fine of just Rs 1000. It’s easier to cut and pay,” added Alvares.
Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar points out that the blame lies not just with the government agencies that fail to act, but also with the people.
“The mines operate with the local people’s support. During public hearings I have filed objections to illegal mines being operated in private forests, but I have been silenced by some villagers, mostly those who operate trucks in the mines,” Kerkar said.
Forest officials also told TOI that while the mining lease of Hyder Kassim Khan in Quepem has FCA clearance and the chief wildlife warden’s NOC, Dr P R Hede in Sanguem has no clearances, but has given an undertaking before the Central Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme Court that mining operations would not be conducted in the leased area.
Environment minister talks tough
Margao: The minister for environment, Aleixo Sequeira, has expressed his resolve to act tough against all illegal mines operating in the state that are found to be violating pollution control norms and destroying the environment. Addressing reporters at the South Goa collectorate in Margao on Tuesday, Sequeira said that the process of establishing the legality or otherwise of the mines is underway by the department of environment and that action will be initiated against those found guilty. “We are presently scrutinizing the papers of the mining companies against which we have received complaints. We will take appropriate action if illegalities are established,” Sequeira said in reply to a question. Urging the public to bring to his notice any cases of environmental pollution caused by operation of illegal mines, Sequeira assured of prompt action in such matters.
“Though is difficult to monitor operation of mines in rural areas, so far we have taken appropriate action as and when such instances were brought to my notice,” Sequeira added. The environment minister, however, blamed it on the lack of coordination between various regulatory agencies viz ministry for environment, ministry for forest, pollution control board, etc. for violation of laws by the mining companies. “We have instances of forest department giving clearance for operation of mines in its own forest land,” Sequeira observed.
Meanwhile, Sequeira brushed aside all speculations that he will be dropped from the cabinet and appeared quite relaxed when reporters quizzed him over the matter. “The government is stable and so am I,” he quipped in jest. TNN
September 11, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Of the five mining leases in the state, whose areas include private forests, three are operating without necessary environmental permissions.
In an affidavit filed last month in the high court of Bombay at Goa, chief conservator of forests Shashi Kumar admitted that the mining leases of Hyder Kassim Khan in Sulcorna, Dr P R Hede in Collem, Kundu Gharse in Tudou, Quexeva Cundo and Hiralal Kholidas in Colamba have private forests within them. He, however, added that, ‘no mining activities are going on in these identified private forest areas’.
However, officials from the forest department say that ‘Kunda Gharse, Quexeva Cundo and Hiralal Kholidas are operating without necessary clearances’. Admitting that the three mines are indeed operating without permission from the ministry of environment and forests, Kumar said, “This will attract the forest conservation Act, as the mine operators have to take necessary permission before starting operations.”
Though the mining lobby claims this has not resulted in any destruction of private forests, environmentalists say that if there is a private forest in any portion of the lease area, no mining operations can be conducted without permission from the ministry of environment and forests under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, (FCA). A fact, which the mining lobby also agrees with, but find ways to circumvent.
Goa Mineral Ore Exporters’ Association (GMOEA) executive director S Sridhar says that often a mine owner is not aware of areas that have been demarcated as private forests.
“As the private forest area is not clearly demarcated, we may start operating in such an area. But once we are intimated about the private forest by the forest department, we then can operate only with permission,” said Sridhar.
What Sridhar means is that if a mine owner obtains a lease to mine in 80 hectares of land, of which 10 hectares have been demarcated as private forest, then they can continue mining without necessary clearances till such time the forest department intimates the lease holder about the demarcated private forest area.
“Mining companies often escape by claiming that they are not working in the forested portion of the lease. However, the law states that whether one is working in the forested part of the lease or on the non-forested part is irrelevant since the lease requires clearance,” said Goa Foundation director Claude Alvares.
The irony is that if the mine owner during this period has destroyed the private forest area due to his alleged ‘ignorance’, there is no penalty other than the lease holder having to stop operations until the required clearance is obtained.
“If the ministry of Environment and Forest wants to grant clearance under FCA 1980, the party must cough up the costs of compensatory afforestation and the Net Present Value of the entire forest on the lease. This can mean a lot of money. The only offence that can be registered against the operators is under the trees Act, which attracts a fine of just Rs 1000. It’s easier to cut and pay,” added Alvares.
Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar points out that the blame lies not just with the government agencies that fail to act, but also with the people.
“The mines operate with the local people’s support. During public hearings I have filed objections to illegal mines being operated in private forests, but I have been silenced by some villagers, mostly those who operate trucks in the mines,” Kerkar said.
Forest officials also told TOI that while the mining lease of Hyder Kassim Khan in Quepem has FCA clearance and the chief wildlife warden’s NOC, Dr P R Hede in Sanguem has no clearances, but has given an undertaking before the Central Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme Court that mining operations would not be conducted in the leased area.
Environment minister talks tough
Margao: The minister for environment, Aleixo Sequeira, has expressed his resolve to act tough against all illegal mines operating in the state that are found to be violating pollution control norms and destroying the environment. Addressing reporters at the South Goa collectorate in Margao on Tuesday, Sequeira said that the process of establishing the legality or otherwise of the mines is underway by the department of environment and that action will be initiated against those found guilty. “We are presently scrutinizing the papers of the mining companies against which we have received complaints. We will take appropriate action if illegalities are established,” Sequeira said in reply to a question. Urging the public to bring to his notice any cases of environmental pollution caused by operation of illegal mines, Sequeira assured of prompt action in such matters.
“Though is difficult to monitor operation of mines in rural areas, so far we have taken appropriate action as and when such instances were brought to my notice,” Sequeira added. The environment minister, however, blamed it on the lack of coordination between various regulatory agencies viz ministry for environment, ministry for forest, pollution control board, etc. for violation of laws by the mining companies. “We have instances of forest department giving clearance for operation of mines in its own forest land,” Sequeira observed.
Meanwhile, Sequeira brushed aside all speculations that he will be dropped from the cabinet and appeared quite relaxed when reporters quizzed him over the matter. “The government is stable and so am I,” he quipped in jest. TNN
September 11, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Onam Away from HOME
Onam Away from HOME
Preetu Nair discovers that Keralites in Goa have adapted the family-centric celebration into a community festival with Goans on the guest list
Change, it is said, is the only constant. And for the Keralite settlement in Goa, the 10-day Onam celebrations, not unlike the zealous festivities down south, are nonetheless with a spot of change.
Take, for instance, the very core of the celebrations — the family. While in Kerala, generations of families celebrate the harvest festival together, often in their ancestral home, those unable to leave Goa, have adapted.
“We always feel like going to Kerala for Onam, but rarely can. So, in Goa, Thiruonam (the most important day) is like any other day: the kids go to school, my husband goes to work. But, we try to make up for what we’re missing back home, by ensuring that we have the onasadya (feast) together and by doing pookalam (flower decorations) at home,” says Margao-based Gita Achary. While in Kerala, the flowers are hand-picked, lack of time has many Goa-based Keralites opting for a floral purchase from the market, she adds.
Ask Dinesh Cheerassery about Onam, and nostalgia fills his voice. “I miss home and the time I would spend with my siblings and mother at our ancestral home during Onam,” says the Bicholim resident. As a child, the 42-year-old remembers waiting “anxiously” for what Onam symbolised — the new dress, lavish meal and “the swing that my uncle would make for us”. Today, his siblings still meet at the ancestral home to celebrate, but Cheerassery is “unable to go”.
KRS Nair has found a way to bridge the physical gap — the idiot box. “We watch the traditional Onam celebrations in Kerala on television. Through the medium of TV, the spirit of Onam is still alive for us, even in Goa,” says the president of the Nair Service Society of Goa, who has completed almost five decades in his adopted state.
Adds Cheerassery, who has been calling Goa home for two decades, “If in Kerala Onam is celebrated with the family alone, here we celebrate it with family, friends and everyone, including Goans.”
Agrees Lalu Abraham, “The best thing about celebrating Onam in Goa is that it’s not just a family affair, but a community affair where everyone gets together, eats together and becomes one big, happy family.” Malayali groups in the state mark the festival by organizing games, flower display competitions, cultural programs, onasadya (vegetarian lunch) prepared by cooks from Kerala and even Malayalam language knowledge competitions.
But for some, the celebrations back home — gala processions, kathakali and other traditional dance performances, the snake boat race and onappottan, the visit on Thiruonam of a person dressed as Mahabali — are too endearing to miss.
Which is why, despite no Onam holiday in Goa, college student Stephy Abraham has decided she will be home for Thiruonam. “I did it last year too and this year it’s on Friday. I’m headed home.” Happy Onam. TNN
Celebrations
A grand feast called Onasadya, prepared on Thiruonam, is the most important among all the fervour and carnival-like celebrations of Onam
A nine course meal, it consists of 11-13 essential dishes, that are served on banana leaves. People consume it while sitting on a mat on the floor
Vallamkali or the snake boat race, is another important aspect of the celebrations. The race sees hundreds of boatmen race on the river Pampa
Most houses display Pookalam — a flower exhibit — in their front courtyards to welcome King Mahabali
Given the rich celebrations during the festival, Onam was made Kerala’s National Festival in 1961
Onam at a glance What is Onam?
A harvest festival, Onam is the biggest, most important celebration in Kerala. It is celebrated by all communities and popular legend has it that it is held to welcome King Mahabali
Legend
The story goes that during the reign of the mighty demon king Mahabali, Kerala witnessed its golden era. Jealous about the king’s growing popularity, the gods used his only weakness — his ego — to end his reign. However, as Mahabali had done a lot of good, the gods granted him a boon: he could visit his people, to whom he was so attached, once a year. This visit is celebrated as Onam
Period
Onam lasts from four to 10 days. Thiruonam, which falls on September 12 this year is the most important of all days
September 11, 2008,The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair discovers that Keralites in Goa have adapted the family-centric celebration into a community festival with Goans on the guest list
Change, it is said, is the only constant. And for the Keralite settlement in Goa, the 10-day Onam celebrations, not unlike the zealous festivities down south, are nonetheless with a spot of change.
Take, for instance, the very core of the celebrations — the family. While in Kerala, generations of families celebrate the harvest festival together, often in their ancestral home, those unable to leave Goa, have adapted.
“We always feel like going to Kerala for Onam, but rarely can. So, in Goa, Thiruonam (the most important day) is like any other day: the kids go to school, my husband goes to work. But, we try to make up for what we’re missing back home, by ensuring that we have the onasadya (feast) together and by doing pookalam (flower decorations) at home,” says Margao-based Gita Achary. While in Kerala, the flowers are hand-picked, lack of time has many Goa-based Keralites opting for a floral purchase from the market, she adds.
Ask Dinesh Cheerassery about Onam, and nostalgia fills his voice. “I miss home and the time I would spend with my siblings and mother at our ancestral home during Onam,” says the Bicholim resident. As a child, the 42-year-old remembers waiting “anxiously” for what Onam symbolised — the new dress, lavish meal and “the swing that my uncle would make for us”. Today, his siblings still meet at the ancestral home to celebrate, but Cheerassery is “unable to go”.
KRS Nair has found a way to bridge the physical gap — the idiot box. “We watch the traditional Onam celebrations in Kerala on television. Through the medium of TV, the spirit of Onam is still alive for us, even in Goa,” says the president of the Nair Service Society of Goa, who has completed almost five decades in his adopted state.
Adds Cheerassery, who has been calling Goa home for two decades, “If in Kerala Onam is celebrated with the family alone, here we celebrate it with family, friends and everyone, including Goans.”
Agrees Lalu Abraham, “The best thing about celebrating Onam in Goa is that it’s not just a family affair, but a community affair where everyone gets together, eats together and becomes one big, happy family.” Malayali groups in the state mark the festival by organizing games, flower display competitions, cultural programs, onasadya (vegetarian lunch) prepared by cooks from Kerala and even Malayalam language knowledge competitions.
But for some, the celebrations back home — gala processions, kathakali and other traditional dance performances, the snake boat race and onappottan, the visit on Thiruonam of a person dressed as Mahabali — are too endearing to miss.
Which is why, despite no Onam holiday in Goa, college student Stephy Abraham has decided she will be home for Thiruonam. “I did it last year too and this year it’s on Friday. I’m headed home.” Happy Onam. TNN
Celebrations
A grand feast called Onasadya, prepared on Thiruonam, is the most important among all the fervour and carnival-like celebrations of Onam
A nine course meal, it consists of 11-13 essential dishes, that are served on banana leaves. People consume it while sitting on a mat on the floor
Vallamkali or the snake boat race, is another important aspect of the celebrations. The race sees hundreds of boatmen race on the river Pampa
Most houses display Pookalam — a flower exhibit — in their front courtyards to welcome King Mahabali
Given the rich celebrations during the festival, Onam was made Kerala’s National Festival in 1961
Onam at a glance What is Onam?
A harvest festival, Onam is the biggest, most important celebration in Kerala. It is celebrated by all communities and popular legend has it that it is held to welcome King Mahabali
Legend
The story goes that during the reign of the mighty demon king Mahabali, Kerala witnessed its golden era. Jealous about the king’s growing popularity, the gods used his only weakness — his ego — to end his reign. However, as Mahabali had done a lot of good, the gods granted him a boon: he could visit his people, to whom he was so attached, once a year. This visit is celebrated as Onam
Period
Onam lasts from four to 10 days. Thiruonam, which falls on September 12 this year is the most important of all days
September 11, 2008,The Times of India, Goa edition
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