The Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (Goa-SEIAA) has levied a penalty of Rs 31.2 lakh on a residential-cum-commercial project located at Odxel in Taleigao for environmental violations. The project proponents had submitted an application for environmental clearance in March 2023 before the Goa State Expert Appraisal Committee (Goa-SEAC). However, the committee declined to recommend the proposal after discovering that construction activities were being carried out without a valid environmental clearance.
Expired Clearance and Continued Construction
The committee noted that the project's earlier environmental clearance had expired in 2013 and was not renewed, despite ongoing construction at the site. This violation prompted the authority to take action.
Penalty Calculation Based on Guidelines
Following guidelines issued by the Union environment ministry in July 2021, the Goa-SEIAA decided to impose a penalty linked to the project cost and turnover during the period of violation. In December 2023, the authority had refused to approve the project's terms of reference under the violation category as the prescribed penalty had not been paid.
The matter was reconsidered in January 2026 after the project proponents cited a January 20 office memorandum from the Union environment ministry that allowed processing of pending and unconcluded cases. Subsequently, the Goa-SEIAA directed the developers to submit details of the built-up area, construction expenditure, and turnover generated during the violation period.
Details of Penalty
According to submissions made before the authority, the total construction cost incurred outside the validity period of the environmental clearance stood at Rs 24.4 crore, while Rs 27 crore had been received from sales attributable to the constructed area as of April 6 this year. Based on these figures, the authority imposed a penalty of Rs 24.4 lakh, equivalent to 1% of the project cost incurred, and an additional Rs 6.7 lakh, equivalent to 0.25% of the turnover during the violation period.
The total penalty payable works out to Rs 31.2 lakh, the Goa-SEIAA stated, adding that the pending terms of reference for the project will be issued only after the penalty amount is paid.
