MARGAO
Demolition or dismantling of the illegal extensions to the 30 stalls leased out by the Tourism department at its Colva complex on Tuesday has finally brought curtains down to long-drawn proceedings before the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) in the suo moto writ petition no 02/2006 by the Bombay High Court on illegal constructions in CRZ areas.
The High Court of Bombay at Goa vide order dated September 26, 2007, passed in the writ petition, had directed all the panchayats/municipalities to submit an Action Taken Report concerning constructions in the NDZ/CRZ area.
By an order dated January 12, 2015, the High Court passed in the suo moto writ petition had inter alia directed Colva to furnish the material on record to suggest the structures are not illegal before the GCZMA and such authorities shall examine such material after hearing the parties according to law.
In the meantime, the Colva Civic and Consumer Forum had moved an intervention application before the High Court in 2012 with affidavits concerning illegal extensions.
Thereafter, the matter was placed in the 115th GCZMA meeting held on April 4, 2015, wherein the authority after a detailed discussion, decided to refer the matter to the Inquiry Committee of GCZMA to examine all the documents on record and hear the parties if required and submit the report to the GCZMA within 30 days.
Since then, the matter has been pending with the GCZMA, figured at a host of meetings of the authority since 2015 to the last meeting held on September 30 and October 4, 2022, at the 325th meeting, wherein the Tourism department submitted that the extensions to the 30 stalls are illegal, paving the way to issue directions for demolition within 30 days.
Commenting on the demolition, activist and secretary of Colva Civic and Consumer Forum Judith Almeida said the government should inquire how the violations took place right under the nose of the officials. “Since the government is observing Vigilance week, it should find out the officials responsible for turning a blind eye to the violations,” Judith added.
Tourism shopping complex and the illegal extensions
The shopping complex in the Tourism department property just at the entrance to Colva beach was constructed before 1980 with around six shops, which were subsequently leased out.
The department further constructed on the acquired land five units with six stalls, each totalling 30. The plinth of each stall admeasured at around 13.20 square metres, except the stall with a store room having a plinth of 14.66 square metres.
Documents submitted by the Tourism department before GCZMA showed that all these stalls were also leased out. The construction was done in 1988 in Survey No 23/7, 23/10 and 23/11 of Colva.
After a protracted battle before the GCZMA, the Tourism department has finally admitted that the stalls have been illegally extended by the leaseholders, and final action and legal procedure is pending at their end.
The department had further submitted that there are 29 four-wheeler carts operating in its property bearing Survey No 37/11 Colva conducting small-scale business, whose approval has been rejected by them. The operators of carts continue to exist unabated in property bearing Survey No 37/11 Colva village, the department had admitted before the GCZMA.
Business owners say dept should have given them time to move court
MARGAO
A huge board Kentuckee seafood restaurant, located right at the entrance to Colva beach, welcomed visitors to the world-famous beach over the years, has finally disappeared on Tuesday evening.
The board was dismantled along with the shed after the Tourism department executed directions by the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to demolish all extensions to the 30 shops at the Tourism complex.
Shattered over the action, Kentuckee owner Mathew Diniz said he has been running the restaurant for the last 25 years with all the permissions, including a licence for the bar, restaurant and shed. What agitated Mathew the most was the attitude of the Tourism officials in serving him the notice at around 9.30 pm on Monday to convey the department’s decision to revoke the permissions for the shed. “I have been doing the restaurant business legally with permission, paying huge revenue to the government. Now, the tourism department has suddenly told me the permission for the shed is revoked. They have not allowed us to even move the courts. This is not fair when the tourism season has just started,” he said.
He added: "This is not a way to treat a local businessman eking a living in the tourism business. They say Goans are heading to London, but this is a case wherein the government is driving the locals to pack their bags to migrate."
Other business owners rued the action saying the department should have given them the time to move the courts and obtain a stay.
Venzy, Mickky rush to beach, take up cudgels for bizmen
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THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO
As the Tourism department’s action as per the GCZMA order kicked up an uproar at Colva, politicians, both incumbent MLA Venzy Viegas and former MLA Mickky Pacheco rushed to the beach to take up cudgels for the beleaguered businessmen.
Benaulim MLA Venzy demanded that the Tourism department should immediately step in and give the permission to erect the sheds to facilitate the owners to conduct their business till season-end. Venzy said he spoke to Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte and Director Nikhil Desai to work out a solution so that the complex, which used to cater to around 500 visitors with breakfast, lunch and dinner, returns to business as usual.
“The poor are always the soft targets in society. Big-time hoteliers have escaped the law through manipulations. The people doing business in the tourism complex Colva are all locals. By complaining, we have targeted our people,” he said.
Stating he is not condoning illegalities, Venzy, however, said one needs to find out a way forward, adding that the interests of the small businessmen can be protected if the department put up a shed and charge a fee.
Former Tourism Minister Mickky Pacheco bitterly protested over the way the department went about the job. “Where is the demolition when the shed is purely temporary in nature? The shed could have been retained with an undertaking from the owners. I have been the Tourism Minister twice, but I have never allowed locals to be displaced from the business,” Mickky said while adding that the department ought to have been given time to remove the shed and goods.
