CM: Harsher penalties for illegal land filling

PANAJI: Amendments to the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act to provide more stringent penalties against illegal filling of land and hill cutting, are on the cards said chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday.
Replying to a starred question by St Cruz Congress MLA Atanasio 'Babush' Monserrate, Parrikar also said that he would instruct police to file criminal cases for illegal land filling and hill cutting.He said the amended act would have provisions to levy fines and force offenders to remove the filled mud.
Pointing to details given in the annexure, Monserrate asked why police had filed only one FIR when there were 13 complaints of illegal land filling filed by the flying squads. Monserrate said that the FIR was filed in a case dated July 26, 2010, but none were registered in cases filed before.
Parrikar replied that he would instruct police to register the FIRs for all 13 cases by Wednesday evening itself. Parrikar's promise for more stringent penalties also followed a complaint by Calangute MLA Michael Lobo that the procedure to file complaints was lengthy and the government should appoint dedicated officers for the task.