Oxel spring construction paused, court orders study

Panaji: In a public interest litigation (PIL) which challenged a construction within meters of the Oxel spring, Siolim the builder on Friday assured the high court that no construction activity would be carried out on the property until the next date of the court hearing.

The high court accepted the undertaking by senior advocate Nitin Sardessai, on instructions from Gokul Kumar, representative of Jai Santoshi Housing Pvt Ltd, who was personally present in court.

The division bench of the high court asked Town & Country Planning (TCP) department to file an affidavit specifying the scientific study that was undertaken and whether any technical expert was consulted or a report obtained before granting permissions to the project. This was to help ascertain the impact of the ongoing construction at Oxel spring, which is at a distance of 33 metres from the ongoing construction.

The high court also asked the water resources department (WRD) to carry out a site inspection in the presence of the parties and submit a report by 14 Nov, specifying the impact of the ongoing construction on the Oxel Spring. The Siolim panchayat will take appropriate steps in response to the representation received from the residents, said advocate Nigel Da Costa Frias, representing Oxel panchayat.

“We expect the panchayat to closely look into the matter given the importance of Oxel Spring,” stated the division bench comprising Justices M S Karnik and Valmiki Menezes. The high court was hearing a PIL challenging the construction of the residential villas, swimming pools, and soak pit within 33 metres of the Oxel spring.

The petitioners, Suraj Chodankar and activist Avertino Miranda, in their petition to the high court, submitted that the underground spring, which is more than 350 years old, is a perennial spring and one of the most important ecological assets of the village. Its water is still pure and not sullied or contaminated and villagers use the water for drinking.

The spring overflows into a channel that irrigates paddy fields in the locality, they submitted. They also submitted that villagers are apprehensive that the septic tanks and soak pits will degrade the environment of the area around the spring and contaminate the waters.

They added that the impact of the construction on the catchment area and water reserves of the Oxel spring has not been considered by officials.