MAPUSA
Government authorities have swiftly taken action to demolish an illegal hotel on Uddo beach in coastal Siolim, following the looming threat of a High Court contempt petition.
The contempt petition targeted the Collector and Deputy Collector of Bardez for their failure to comply with an order from the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to seal and demolish the structures and reclaim government land they were built upon.
Scheduled for discussion on April 17 in the High Court of Bombay at Goa, the contempt proceedings prompted urgent measures from authorities.
According to Adv Anthony D’Silva, counsel for the petitioner, no contempt notices had been served, but the High Court had instructed the government advocate to verify the issues raised in the petition.
Consequently, the authorities proceeded with the demolition of the illegal hotel within the last two days.
The hotel, comprising 22 rooms, had been constructed in a No Development Zone area on the banks of the River Chapora, in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification of 2011.
This unlawful construction had drawn attention from the High Court in 2021 for encroaching on government land and exacerbating environmental degradation within the eco-sensitive CRZ area, without obtaining necessary permissions from GCZMA.
Despite the owners of the hotel filing a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the High Court’s order last year, the apex court dismissed the petition, clearing the path for the demolition of the structure.
Initially brought to light by a complaint from local resident Alex Pereira, action against the illegal structures was slow to materialise from various authorities until the matter reached the High Court.
The Siolim-Marna panchayat, after considerable delay, confirmed the illegality of the hotel’s construction in its inspection report, noting the owner’s failure to obtain any permissions from authorities.
GCZMA had directed the deputy collector and sub-divisional magistrate of Bardez to seal the illegal construction and impose a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on the proprietor of the structure.
