72 sq m structure ruled unauthorised
PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has upheld a demolition notice issued nearly 18 years ago against a Panaji resident, ruling that a 72 sq m structure built on a property in Altinho was unauthorised and must be removed.
A Bench of Justice Neela Gokhale dismissed a writ petition filed by Nutan Naik, who had challenged both the 2008 demolition notice issued by the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) and a 2020 order by the State’s Urban Development Secretary confirming it. However, the court granted a four-week stay on the operation of its judgment.
The case relates to a house in Altinho, where Naik claimed her late father had built the dwelling around 40 years ago with the permission of the previous owner, and that she was living there as a mundkar.
The matter began after Celina Almeida, one of the legal heirs of the property, filed a complaint with the CCP in June 2007, alleging illegal construction. Following a site inspection, municipal authorities prepared a report and sketch. The court noted that the inspection clearly showed an unauthorised structure of 72 sq m.
Rejecting the claim that the structure was old and therefore protected, the court found that no legal permissions had been produced.
The Bench observed that the petitioner had failed to provide any required permission, licence, or approval from the planning authorities. In the absence of such documents, the construction had to be treated as unauthorised.
The court stressed that even a recognised mundkar cannot carry out construction without prior approval. It said the structure identified in the report was therefore unauthorised.
The judgment pointed out that mundkar proceedings were started only on August 11, 2008, after a show-cause notice was issued on July 31 that year, which weakened the petitioner’s case.
On the argument that the structure existed before the City of Panaji Corporation Act came into force, the court accepted the CCP’s submission that all existing properties had been mapped in earlier survey plans, and the disputed structure did not appear in them.
The Bench concluded that the 72 sq m construction was unauthorised. The CCP assured the court that demolition would be limited to the unauthorised portion and that no approved part of the house would be affected.
