PANAJI
The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) may have overrun its tenure and technically left without substantive powers but it has not stopped its member-secretary Dashrath Redkar from issuing a sweeping ‘stop work’ order and a concurrent ‘demolition’ notice to the controversial Ozrant-Anjuna club -- Waters Beach Lounge and Grill.
Redkar’s order asks the management to immediately bring to a halt all construction work at the site and was issued to Samvar Merchant, who is the director of the company that owns the outlet -- Water Beach Lounge and Grill Private Limited.
The notice also asks Merchant to also show-cause why construction already done should not be demolished and to file his reply within 15 days.
A crucial watchdog against irregularities and violations of CRZ rules along Goa’s vast coast, the GCZMA headed by Environment Secretary Arun Kumar Mishra, IAS, had ended its term on October 31.
Earlier this week, at least two judicial authorities -- National Green Tribunal and Bombay High Court’s Goa Bench -- have taken cognizance of the GCZMA’s going defunct and issued directions to the MoEF&CC to speed up its process and reconstitute the body.
Legal experts said, the chairman and member-secretary have residual powers to issue administrative and executing orders in a vacuum such as the GCZMA currently finds itself with its term ended.
Redkar’s order to Merchant of Waters Beach Lounge and Grill meanwhile said: “The GCZMA hereby directs you to Stop Work with immediate effect and Show Cause as to why a direction to demolish the structures and restore the land to its original condition should not be issued to you.”
Merchant has also been directed by Redkar to ensure that no further civil work of any kind is carried out at the site and to file his reply with a compliance report and permissions if any from authorities to the GCZMA within 15 days.
The controversial Ozrant-Anjuna club had also been asked to pull down its structure for violating CRZ norms last year.
This year, however, it was issued permission to construct wooden structures (shacks and huts) in its property but a structure using steel reinforcement, brick and mortar was being allegedly erected instead.
In July, GCZMA had issued permissions to Merchant for temporary wooden structures and the Anjuna-Caisua panchayat secretary too had issued permission for the temporary wooden restaurant.
The GCZMA action comes following a complaint by local Anjuna panchayat member Surendra Govekar.
Waters Beach Lounge and Grill Pvt Ltd had also raked up a huge controversy two years ago when it named itself as Sunburn Beach Club and for declaring the nearby public beach as a private one.
