Panaji: A Rs.200 crore real estate housing project being developed by 2G scam accused Satish Chandra was favoured by a state-level committee (SLC) for land use headed by Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, civil society activists in Goa alleged Thursday.
Paul Fernandes, convenor of the Pilerne Citizens Forum (PCF), told a press conference here that the committee appointed to vet Goa's futuristic land use plan, Regional Plan 2021, cleared it in a dubious fashion.
"The government had appointed village level committees to prepare a draft regional plan. The village level committee had not included this project in the plan. But this project which is being promoted by Satish Chandra, a 2G accused, was slipped in by the Kamat headed-SLC," Fernandes said.
Kamat is already on the hot seat after the opposition accused him of overseeing a Rs.25,000 crore illegal mining scam.
"Chandra is in prison in the 2G scam case," Fernandes said.
Paul also said that nearly 20 lakh sq m of green land in Pilerne, a picturesque riverside village 10 km from here, had been converted to a settlement zone by the government.
"A plot of nearly 17 lakh sq m is missing from the village plan. Officials of the town and country planning department are claiming they do not know what happened and why the land is not reflected on the plan," Fernandes said.
Goa's civic society activists are protesting rampant concretization of the state. Kamat's Congress-led coalition government has been the subject of many controversies, especially relating to mega land intensive projects.
Goa's civil society, especially the Church, over the last few years has actively resisted the concretization of the state, especially in coastal areas.
IANS
First Published: Thursday, October 27, 2011, 15:33