Panaji: Advocate General Devidas Pangam has said that the Unity Mall project remains fully legal, stressing that the district court’s observations were limited to procedural matters and did not challenge the project itself.
He said the court had only directed that the construction licence be obtained from the deputy director of panchayats rather than the BDO and had not declared the project illegal.
Pangam said the government could either challenge the order or comply by obtaining fresh permission from the designated authority and restart construction.
“The district court has clearly stated that the government can approach the appropriate authority, obtain the required permission and proceed with the construction. It is only a technical glitch and nothing on merits,” he said, adding that all permissions were in accordance with law.
He said there was no legal impediment to the project, asserting that the recent observations by the district court were only on technical grounds. He said that the district court had not held the structure or the construction illegal, nor had it questioned the legality of the project.
Similar arguments had been raised earlier before the HC, which did not entertain the petition, and two previous attempts to secure a stay on the project had failed, he said.
He said that while people have the right to protest, there is no legal obstacle to the project, which is supported by detailed studies.
