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The Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (Goa-SEIAA) has issued new guidelines requiring the Town & Country Planning Department (TCP) and the Planning & Development Authority, North Goa and Planning & Development Authority, South Goa (PDAs) to inform it whenever they approve a building project with a built-up area exceeding 20,000 sqm. The authority will then notify the TCP or concerned PDA if it grants environmental clearance (EC) for such projects. Earlier this year a meeting highlighted that building plan approvals were being granted without prior EC, prompting the change. The new process ensures environmental assessments are completed before major construction begins.
The Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (Goa-SEIAA) has mandated that the Town & Country Planning Department (TCP) and the Planning & Development Authorities (PDAs) of North and South Goa must notify it whenever they approve a building plan whose built-up area exceeds 20,000 sq m. The authority will, in turn, inform the TCP or concerned PDA when it grants environmental clearance (EC) for such projects. Advertisement
This guideline comes in the wake of a meeting held earlier this year, in which the authority noted that it was being directed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change the EC could only be granted after the project proponent submitted approved building plans from the competent authority. However, the TCP and PDAs stated they could not issue final building plan approval without prior EC.
To clarify the process, the authority has decided that it will issue EC to projects exceeding 20,000 sq m with the condition that the project proponent must subsequently submit the approved building plan from the TCP or PDA. Civil construction must not begin until that approved plan is submitted. If the project proponent proceeds without submitting the plan, the authority retains the right to revoke the EC under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
By mandating this notification loop and reinforcing the submission requirement, Goa-SEIAA aims to close the gap where building plans were being approved before the environmental clearance process was completed.
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