MAPUSA
With the horrific Arpora nightclub fire that claimed 25 lives still casting a shadow over Goa’s nightlife sector, the Calangute panchayat has issued show-cause notices to 17 restaurants operating clandestine clubs, directing them to produce mandatory No Objection Certificates (NOCs) within three days or face closure.
The establishments – popular spots such as Miami Restaurant, Café Mambo, Tito’s, Xtreme, Cape Town Café and several others – have been asked to furnish NOCs from key departments including Fire & Emergency Services, Excise, Health, and FDA.
Sarpanch Joseph Sequeira admitted that years of lax scrutiny contributed to unsafe operations flourishing in Calangute.
“In a way, it’s our mistake too as we issued licences without insisting on NOCs from relevant departments. We don’t want another Birch by Romeo Lane tragedy in our village,” Sequeira said.
According to him, the panchayat has issued licences strictly for restaurants, but many have been functioning as de facto nightclubs, often with loud music, dance floors, and extended operating hours – without the statutory approvals required for such activities.
Sequeira reiterated that while the panchayat has begun its compliance drive, enforcement action beyond licensing – such as sealing or prosecution – rests with other authorities, including the police and district administration.
He added that moving forward, no new licence or renewal will be granted unless establishments first produce all mandatory NOCs, marking a shift to stringent pre-verification rather than post-violation crackdowns.
The move reflects a wider state-level tightening of safety norms following the Arpora fire, which exposed systemic regulatory failures across Goa’s nightlife industry.
The Calangute panchayat’s latest action is expected to trigger a larger compliance push across coastal belts where restaurants frequently morph into unlicensed clubs.
Earlier, the government had also constituted a Safety Audit Committee to frame Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for conducting comprehensive safety audits and for granting licences to tourism-related establishments.
The Committee had been tasked with assessing the mandatory licenses, approvals and safety norms including fire NOC, structural stability certificate, electrical safety and other such requirements for the functioning of the establishment.
Likewise, it would also recommend critical safety infrastructure, firefighting equipment, emergency exits, electrical wiring, crowd control measures and evacuation plans which shall be adhered to by establishments for their operation.
