MARGAO
In an important order, the High Court has told the Director of Municipal Administration (DMA) to investigate claims that many single and double-storey buildings have been built in Cuncolim Municipal Council’s area without permission.
The High Court has asked the DMA to finish the inquiry within three months and submit a compliance report, noting that if the claims are true, the Council must act even if there are no complaints from anyone.
While deciding on the PIL filed by Green Goa Foundation, the Court also told the DMA to look into the allegation that “protection money” was paid. This direction follows claims by a respondent that a payment was made for a construction as protection money, and that many buildings in Cuncolim have been built without the Civic body’s permission.
Green Goa Foundation had filed the PIL claiming the Cuncolim Council was not taking action against an illegal construction by the respondent. The respondent produced an order dated April 17, 2025, from the Council granting three months to regularise the illegal structure, stating that if the structure was not regularised, it could be demolished after three months.
The lawyer for Cuncolim Council pointed out that the three-month period had ended, and no regularisation order or stay order had been produced to stop the demolition. The Council said it would request the demolition squad on July 21, 2025, and undertook to demolish the structure once the squad is available.
After checking the April 17 order, the High Court observed, “to say the least, we are shocked by the same. The Chief Officer, against whom, allegations have been made by fourth respondent in the reply to the show cause notice about some ‘protection money’ after recording a categorical finding that the construction is illegal shows ‘magnanimity’ and granted the respondent ‘opportunity for regularising’.”
The Court further said, “Be that as it may, as was pointed out by Senior Counsel for Cuncolim Municipal Council, that even this three months period had expired. There is no stay order prohibiting the council from undertaking the demolitions. The Council must requisition the demolition squad. Upon receipt of such requisition, the Deputy Collector must ensure that the demolition squad is provided within a week. The demolitions must be completed within a maximum period of 15 days, unless in the meantime, the fourth respondent secures a stay order from any competent authority.”
The Court added that the demolition should not be delayed because the demolition squad is unavailable, stating this is often used as an excuse to tolerate or protect such illegal structures.
The Court further observed, “Time and again, this Court and the Supreme Court have held that there should be no mercy shown to the illegal constructions. Illegal constructions brazenly carried out inter alia based on ‘protection money’; certainly should not be protected. Therefore, we fail to understand why this Chief Officer, even after concluding that the fourth respondent’s constructions were illegal had gone ahead and granted the fourth respondent an opportunity for getting illegal regularised.”
