the goan I network
MARGAO
Axe finally fell on one of South Goa’s popular restaurant, the Furtado Guest House, at Sernabatim-Goa on Tuesday, nearly four years after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had ordered demolition of the house property and its entire construction.
Given the magnitude of the operation, Deputy Collector Uday Prabhudesai on late Tuesday evening issued directions to the PWD to deploy at least five to six JCBs at the demolition site so that the operation is completed by Wednesday.
A week after officials of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) played truant, forcing postponement of the demolition, the South Goa demolition squad headed by Salcete Mamlatdar Prataprao Gaonkar entered the Furtado Guest House on Tuesday morning with heavy machinery and strong police force.
While a JCB was on the job to raze down the ‘pukka’ (permanent) structures standing on the property, a group of 20 labourers were busy engaged in removing the floor tiles from the restaurant property. While a strong posse of policemen maintained a vigil to ward off any law and order problem, officials of the GCZMA identified the structure to be razed down by the demolition squad.
The Salcete Mamlatdar Gaonkar told the media that the demolition squad will raze down all the structures located in property in Survey No 12/1-5, barring two structures as the owners had obtained a stay on Monday.
Given that the demolition work involves a number of structures, the Salcete mamlatdar called up the Deputy Collector Uday Prabhudesai to send additional JCBs to expedite the work. “It will take minimum two days to clear the entire property of the structures. If the Deputy Collector sends additional JCBs, we will be able to clear the structures at least by Wednesday,” Gaonkar added.
The National Green Tribunal had ordered the demolition of the Furtado Guest House and its entire construction on the property way back in 2015.
The NGT had stated in its 2015 that the Furtado family could not show existence of any structure prior to CRZ notification 1991. “There is no document to show that permission was accorded to the erstwhile owner or any kind of permission was obtained by the members of the Furtado family for construction of the guest house.”
The Furtado family had challenged the NGT order, first by filing a review petition before the Tribunal and seeking relief from the Supreme Court, but in vain. Demolition of the guest house was cleared by the Supreme Court on March 8 last when the apex court dismissed the civil appeals filed by the Furtado family.
The sea-facing Furtado Guest House has been a popular holiday home for domestic visitors over the years and a popular partying joint for local people.
