TCP rescinds zoning correction after fee default by Brahm Agro Terra Projects

Panaji: Bengaluru-based Brahm Agro Terra Projects failed to pay the additional fee of Rs 7.2 crore that the town and country planning (TCP) department sought to recover after its officials undervalued the fees for correction of zone under Section 17 (2) of the TCP Act.
The department has now issued an order to rescind the correction of the inconsistent zoning of an 89,500 sqm plot at Chopdem in the regional plan 2021.
“Govt, upon noticing that the applicant neglected and failed to deposit the additional fee within the given time, has decided that govt notification dated June 9, 2024, to the extent of the correction/rectification of zone, is to be rescinded,” said chief town planner Rajesh Naik.
It was Naik who forwarded a proposal for zone rectification from Brahm Agro Terra Projects Ltd, Bengaluru, recommending 89,500sqm to be classified as a settlement zone out of a 2.6 lakh sqm plot at Chopdem under Section 17 (2) of the TCP Act.
Brahm Agro Terra Projects paid Rs 1.8 crore to the TCP to get the l
and zoning changed because the department undervalued the fee. It was only after activists Swapnesh Sherlekar, Jose Carlos Da Veiga Gracias, and Rupesh Shinkre filed a writ petition demanding an inquiry against Naik that the TCP department moved to reassess the amount to be paid and initiate recovery proceedings.
The TCP order also states that the finance department “requested and clarified” to the TCP department—twice in Aug and Sep—to collect fees as per the gazette notification.
In March 2023, the TCP department initially notified a fee of Rs 200 for correction of zone under Section 17(2) of the TCP Act when the area is above 20,001sqm, but a year later, the fees were revised and increased to Rs 1,000. Three months after the revision in fees, the TCP department approved Brahm Agro Terra Projects’ application for zone rectification.
According to Naik, Brahm Agro Terra Projects was given seven days to pay the Rs 7.2 crore, which the company failed to do. The TCP board was informed in March that Brahm Agro Terra Projects failed to pay the additional fees.