NT NETWORK
PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has granted time to the state government and others to comply with the rehabilitation process of all the families likely to be displaced in view of the construction of the ring road by a period of six months from Monday as prayed for.
The High Court had registered a suo motu public interest litigation considering a report ‘Margao western bypass project in limbo for last 14 years’ published in this daily.
The Court has also observed, “As far as the interim arrangement is concerned, we direct the respondents – the state government and others to provide immediate accommodation to rehabilitate the fifteen families into the transit camps at the premises identified by the state government within fifteen days from Monday. It said that the respondents have been asked to make provision of minimum of 10-metre wide space at the site to ensure that the ring road is temporarily functional until the permanent rehabilitation is complete.
The High Court said that on the previous occasion when the matter was taken up there were difficulties addressed with regard to approvals to be obtained from the concerned Town and Country authorities and the change of user of the land for the rehabilitation of the families likely to be displaced. When the matter was taken up on the last day of hearing, the Advocate General submitted that all the permissions as well as the change of user has been finalised and approved in terms of the statutory regulations and the actual rehabilitation of all the displaced families would take a minimum of six months as according to him this process is being handed over to the Goa Housing Board.
It was pointed out to the Advocate General that until the permanent rehabilitation of all the displaced families takes place, an interim measure be taken to immediately keep such families who are within the alignment of the road in some transit accommodation to provide a right of motorable way of about approximately 10 metres width so that the traffic in the city of Margao can be realigned to avoid traffic congestion in the city.
When the matter was taken up on Monday, the Advocate General pointed out that the concerned authorities have identified 15 families who have to be immediately rehabilitated into the transit camps so that a minimum of 10-metre wide motorable road is provided at the subject site to ease flow of traffic entering the city of Margao.