District court directs attachment of Ponda Municipal Council building

GERARD DE SOUZA | MAY 16, 2018, 03:59 AM IST

PANAJI

The North Goa District and Sessions Court has directed the attachment of the Municipal Building of the Ponda Municipal Council after they have failed to pay compensation to an aggrieved party who was entitled to compensation under the Land Acquisition Act.   

The case dates back to the year 2007 when the Ponda Municipal Council through a public notice announced that they would be using a road widening line as the regular line of a public street and would cover all development permissions to be given by the Planning and Development Authority.   

As a result the Vernekar family, who had submitted to construct a hall back in 2005 had to maintain an increased setback and stood to lose 157 square metres of their land which they were not able to utilize.   

The Vernekar family filed for compensation under section 315/3 of the Goa Municipalities Act, 1968 for determination of compensation due to them on account of loss caused to them.   

Under the provisions of the Municipalities Act any person whose land area goes to waste on account of determination of a regular line of public street and setback area, the concerned property can approach the District Court for determination compensation towards the land which would be rendered useless for the concerned party.   

In 2016, the value of the land was fixed at `2,500 per square metre with a direction that they shall be entitled to all the benefits of the Land Acquisition Act. Since the Ponda Municipal Council did not pay the money, the Vernekar family filed an execution application and the Ponda Municipal Council was directed to pay an amount of ₹11.76-lakh with interest calculated up to 31.10.2016 and further interest at the rate of 15% per annum till the amount is actually paid.   

With the council yet to pay, the Vernekar family approached the North Goa District and Sessions Court for attachment of the immoveable property of the Municipal Council -- ie the Municipal Building.   

The Council, through its advocates told the Court that they have taken a resolution to appeal against the earlier orders but admitted that no appeal has yet been filed by the council for the award.   

But the court did not find favour with such an argument. “Merely stating that the judgement debtors (PMC) have taken a resolution to challenge the two orders, no leniency can be shown to the judgement debtors because no amount is deposited by the judgement debtors,” the North Goa Sessions Judge Irshad Aga said.   

To the argument that the land was not actually acquired, the court ruled that the public line of street was already determined and further that when they had approached for construction of a hall, they were not permitted to construct anything in the setback area.   

The Ponda Municipal Council also argued that they made the full use of Floor Area Ratio of the plot and are not entitled to compensation, a claim that was also rejected.   

“The immoveable property -- the Municipal building of Ponda Municipal Council in Survey No 1, Sub Division 1 of Ponda village together with the land on which the municipal building exists, stands attached,” the North Goa Principal District Judge Irshad Aga ruled. 




THE CASE  

Dates back to the year 2007 when the PMC through a public notice announced that they would be using a road widening line as the regular line of a public street   

As a result the Vernekar family, who had submitted to construct a hall back in 2005 had to maintain an increased setback and stood to lose 157 square metres of their land   

The Vernekar family filed for compensation under section 315/3 of the Goa Municipalities Act, 1968 for determination of compensation due to them on account of loss caused to them  

Share this