Rane’s U-turn: Won’t go to SC, but will change rules for Sec 17 (2) ops

Panaji: Two days after the high court of Bombay at Goa struck down the rules and guidelines of the controversial Section 17(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1974, in “public interest”, TCP minister Vishwajit Rane on Saturday said that govt will tweak the rules and guidelines as per the high court directions and make Section 17(2) operational.
Rane took a U-turn over his statement to challenge the high court order in Supreme Court and said that he will not challenge the high court order in the case.
Earlier, the TCP minister held a meeting with CM Pramod Sawant and BJP state president Damodar Naik over the HC judgment on Section 17(2) of the TCP Act.
“I am very happy with the overall judgment of the high court and as a TCP minister, I am very happy with the overall understanding as we are also able to learn something,” Rane said. “Based on the judgment of the high court, we will see what, how, and best we can tweak rules and guidelines and bring it into force. Most importantly, that is after deliberation at the board level.”
The minister said, “Bylaws, rules and guidelines will be tweaked as per the direction of the court and will be put back and notified at the earliest.” “Without going for further litigation, the TCP board will take a decision, and new guidelines will be framed and notified. I respect the judiciary and based on the order of the high court, we will tweak. I don’t want to go to Supreme Court."
Referring to the NGOs and others who claimed that Section 17(2) of the TCP Act is unconstitutional, Rane said, “The Section had been upheld by the high court and now people who said it was unconstitutional have nothing else to say. They say that it is their victory, but for me, it is a process of learning.”
The TCP minister said if Goa Foundation is happy with the judgment, then let them make a statement that they will not challenge the high court judgment in Supreme Court. “As far as Section 17(2) is concerned, that has been upheld by the court. What the court has read down is the bylaws and rules of 17(2). There is no issue. Under 17(2), govt is trying to protect the interest of Goans and those who come to Goa for investment as per the law.”
The court upheld the constitutional validity of the law of Section 17(2), which is most important for us as the provision is in public interest, more so for Goans who suffered for years on account of errors and had nowhere to go with the mistake that was there in the original Regional Plan 2021 for Goa, Rane said.
“No doubt that rules and guidelines were set aside for want of better clarity, which is not something that needs to be taken negatively by us. We are weighing our options, including considering and accepting the judgment and making necessary changes in public interest,” he said.
“The court has given us a positive example of Section 39(A) of the TCP Act. That has also been challenged, but in this judgment, the court has said that 39(A) further shows that a lot of positives are to be taken out for us. The judgment is there for all of us to see in black and white,” Rane said.
The TCP minister said, “Understanding the interpretation of the judgment of the court, the department and govt are open to taking the understanding of the court and interpretation of the court on Section 17(2) rules and bylaws in a different way. I have asked for a TCP board meeting to convene at the earliest. We will take a group of experts on board.”