NT Reporter
Panaji
Draft heritage bylaws for centrally protected monuments at Old Goa have been completed and approved by the National Monuments Authority, the High Court was informed. The submission was made in compliance with a direction issued by the court on May 6.
A counsel informed the court that the bylaws, prepared under Section 20E of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958, as amended in 2010, are required to be placed before both Houses of Parliament.
The counsel said the process has already been initiated and efforts would be made to place them before Parliament during its next session. The petition filed by Glean Cabral and another raises issues relating to permissions granted by the Competent Authority, which in Goa is the Chief Town Planner (Planning), for construction within prohibited and regulated areas surrounding centrally protected monuments.
The matter concerns the church complex at Old Goa. According to the petitioners, the competent authority may grant permission for construction within such areas only as an exception under the proviso to Section 20D (7) of the AMASR Act.
The proviso states that, in exceptional cases and with the approval of the National Monuments Authority, permission may be granted for construction until heritage bylaws prepared under Section 20E are finalised and published.
According to the petitioners, the bylaws were required to be prepared in 2016. The deadline was extended until 2021 and no further extension was notified thereafter.
Expressing concern over construction activity near heritage sites, the High Court had observed that permissions were being granted in the heritage precincts of the Old Goa church complex, where 14 monuments are declared centrally protected monuments, despite the absence of heritage bylaws.
The court had also observed that several structures were likely to come up or that construction had already commenced pursuant to such permissions.
