The High Court of Bombay at Goa has rejected the compliance order submitted by the State government in connection with the HC judgment dated June 29, 2015 whereby directions were issued to demarcate the High Tide Line (HTL) and remove all construction by a five-star hotel in Miramar.
The court has now stressed that the HTL would have to be identified by GCZMA in accordance with the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and CRZ notification of 1991 within three months.
In June 2015, in a judgment disposing off a writ petition filed by Goa Foundation in 1993, the HC had directed Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to examine whether any of the construction activities carried out by the five-star hotel were towards the river side of the imaginary line to be drawn from the light house parallel to the HTL and thereafter to take necessary action against the hotel for restoring the area within six months.
Goa Foundation secured a copy of the compliance report and upon discovering that the HC directions were not followed, the NGO proceeded to file an application.
Upon hearing the application, HC observed that the exercise carried out by the government as detailed in the compliance report was not on the basis of the directions issued.
The order issued by Justice F M Reis and Justice Nutan Sardessai reads, “We are not inclined to accept the report as the directions issued are not in conformity of out judgment. As such, we direct GCZMA duly constituted under the Environment Protection Act to comply with the directions.”
HC further stressed that the manner in which the exercise was to be carried out was indicated in the June 2015 judgment. It was also observed that such an exercise would have to be carried out by the GCZMA which was the authority constituted under the Environment Protection Act to examine environmental issues.
However, in order to execute the June 2015 judgment, the State government constituted a seven-member committee, keeping aside GCZMA without any justification.
In a statement, Goa Foundation has sought to highlight that in order to execute the HC directive, the Chief Secretary called a meeting on September 14, 2015 to lay down a scheme for actions under his supervision. “However, officers of the government decided otherwise. Srinet Kotwale, GCZMA member secretary, put up a file to appoint Dr Joseph Rauto de Souza to be appointed as ‘chief scientist’ to GCZMA. Dr Rauto was taken on a site inspection to demarcate the HTL, bypassing the existing technical members of GCZMA,” said Goa Foundation director, Dr Claude Alvares.
The seven-member committee put together to act on the HC directions included land survey officials Suvarna Salgaonkar, Dattaprasad Parab, Patrick Gonsalves, Sachin Choudhury, Domiana Nazareth along with John Abreu of Corporation of City of Panaji and North Goa Planning and Development Authority member secretary R K Pandita.
Based on the records secured under RTI, Goa Foundation has termed the appointment of a chief scientist as ‘extra-constitutional authority within the GCZMA’.
