PANAJI
Pernem police have registered a case against Abdul Karim Naik, a member of the Korgao“Pernem panchayat, for allegedly trying to regularise an illegal structure in a Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) mangrove buffer area by using forged papers.
The complaint was filed by Pernem Deputy Collector Shivprasad Naik on Thursday.
Officials said Naik submitted an application to the Deputy Collector’s office seeking regularisation of a structure in Survey No. 189/1. He attached a water bill (meter no. 51226) with the file. Investigators later found that the bill was fake.
Authorities claim the forged bill was meant to mislead the administration and obtain approval for construction in a prohibited area.
The land falls in the ‘No Development Zone’ (NDZ) and buffer zone under CRZ-3 rules, where new construction or regularisation of existing structures is not allowed.
The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority had earlier issued a show-cause notice for the same property.
Local activists Rahul Bhagat and Ugamkumar Prabhudesai alleged that Naik did not take consent from the co-owners before applying.
They also questioned the Deputy Collector’s office for accepting the application without checking whether the documents were genuine. Bhagat said the fake bill had been submitted even before the CRZ notice, pointing to possible procedural lapses. Pernem police have filed an FIR.
