PANAJI
A newly opened resort in Calangute -- Amari By the Sea -- gave an undertaking before the Bombay High Court at Goa that it will stop operations within 24 hours after the Goa Foundation challenged the operation of the resort -- which is admittedly running without a licence from the Goa State Pollution Control Board and a construction licence from the Town and Country Planning Department.
During the hearing, the management of the resort told the court that “all operations at the resort will be halted within 24 hours from today (March 13).”
“It is clarified that should respondents No 4 and 5 obtain all the necessary permissions including permission from the Goa State Pollution Control Board and the Directorate of Fire and Emergency Services, then, respondents No 4 and 5 will have the liberty to seek leave of this Court to recommence the operations,” the High Court bench of Justices M S Sonak and Valmiki Menezes Sa, said.
The Goa Foundation presented a PIL challenging the construction and operation of the resort without town planning permissions and panchayat construction licence and its operations without permission from the GSPCB and the Fire Services Department.
The GCZMA had granted NOC for erecting temporary huts in the largely 200 metre No Development Zone to Amari. Based on this NOC, a trade licence was issued by the Panchayat to erect the temporary huts and conduct hotel business.
“Though the requirement was that the constructions should be of temporary material, the entire resort was raised on permanent foundations including a swimming pool. Though all structures were required to be only the ground floor, Amari had erected a restaurant with a forest floor as well,” the Goa Foundation alleged.
