PANAJI
The Bombay High Court at Goa has ordered the state to enforce closure orders passed by the Goa State Pollution Control Board with respect to activities taking place in the Morjim-Mandrem stretch of beaches that are specially protected beaches.During a hearing on the alleged violations of sound pollution norms, the State Pollution Control Board informed the Court that there are 11 structures that included restaurants that were operating without any consent to operate from the Board and the Board had issued closure notices.
The High Court has directed that no activities be conducted at these eleven structures and neither should any kind of permission be issued to these establishments, advocate general Devidas Pangam, said.
Adv Pangam informed that a notification to declare the area as a silent zone was issued in the year 2021.
The High Court has said that no festivals or parties or any kind of permissions can be issued in these areas and activities at the eleven identified establishments should be ‘banned straight away’, the Advocate General said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Bombay High Court at Goa ordered the North Goa Collector to ensure that the orders of closure issued to the beach along the Calangute-Candolim beach stretch, who have been operating without the mandatory consent to operate from the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), are duly implemented.
The orders came after the GSPCB informed the court via an affidavit filed on Monday that out of 167 shacks on the Calangute-Candolim beach stretch, 161 beach shacks are operating without any consent from the GSPCB as required under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
“The records now show that the shack operators have operated these shacks almost for the entire season without even bothering to apply for or belatedly applying but not obtaining any such consents to operate. It is quite shocking that the Directorate of Tourism, GSPCB, GCZMA and all other authorities who are enjoined to ensure that the rule of law prevails have turned Nelson's eye to this unfortunate situation,” the High Court bench of Justices MS Sonak and Valmiki Sa Menezes, said.
The High Court hit out at the Tourism Department for failing to implement the terms and conditions subject to which it had issued such licences.
The Directorate of Tourism initially grants a provisional licence to a shack allottee. However, the provisional licence states that the same is issued to facilitate the shack allottees to obtain required NOCs from the concerned authorities such as Panchayat/ Municipality, Electricity Department, Excise, Health and Food and Drugs, etc., to commence the business activities in the shacks. Once the shack allottee erects the shack at the demarcated location and produces all the requisite NOCs from the concerned Authorities for carrying out business activities in the shack, the Tourism Department will issue a final licence.
Only after such a final licence is issued can the shack allottee actually carry out the business activities from the allotted shack.
“The Tourism Department, it appears, permitted shack operations without verifying the status of all required NOCs. The NOCs from the GSPCB, GCZMA and under the Goa Public Health Act are vital because all such NOCs directly concern the environment. Moreover, such NOCs are vital because, before the grant of such NOCs, such authorities are required to inspect the site and impose suitable conditions so that there is no environmental damage on highly eco-sensitive beach areas,” the High Court observed.
“Therefore, in this case, we are quite shocked that the activities have been carried out without obtaining consent from the GSPCB. Without such consents, we are unsure whether the Tourism Department has issued any final licence or, if given, the basis on which the same was issued,” the High Court also said.
“If this is the position along the Calangute-Candolim stretch, we shudder to imagine the position on the other beach stretches in the State. Therefore, for the moment, we propose to focus on the Calangute- Candolim beach stretch. However, we expect the authorities also to examine the position on the other beach stretches. The Authorities enjoined to implement environmental legislation cannot abdicate their responsibilities and allow rampant degradation of eco-sensitive coastal stretches. The Authorities are trustees for this precious natural heritage. By their inaction, whether deliberate or otherwise, they cannot permit the destruction of these coastal stretches,” the High Court said.
