MAPUSA
In a dramatic new twist to the Arpora nightclub inferno, it has now emerged that the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) had declared the controversial Birch by Romeo Lane “legal” barely two weeks before the tragedy, dismissing multiple complaints against the structure with what critics are calling an astonishingly casual stroke of the pen.
In an order dated November 24, GCZMA Member Secretary Sachin Desai concluded that the structures housing the high-end nightclub were entirely legal since they purportedly fell outside the Coastal Regulation Zone, thereby eliminating any alleged CRZ violations.
“There is no environmental cause, as there is a civil litigation between the owners of the club and the complainant since 2005,” the authority noted, effectively waving aside objections that had been pending for months.
Desai’s order further relied on a 1996 NOC issued by the Arpora–Nagoa Panchayat for the construction of a restaurant, staff quarters, compound wall and retaining wall.
Citing these documents, the authority dropped the show-cause notice and discharged proceedings against alleged violator Surinder Kumar Khosla.
This came despite a set of complaints filed before GCZMA – one by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, co-owners of the disputed property, in December 2023 and another by Canca resident Atmaram Gadekar in January 2025.
All objections were dismissed.
However, after the catastrophic fire that killed 25 people, the State government swung into action and suspended three officials – the former Director of Panchayats, former GSPCB Member Secretary and the Arpora–Nagoa Panchayat Secretary – while signalling that more officials are under scrutiny for possible lapses.
With the GCZMA’s clearance now under the spotlight, the tragedy has exposed yet another layer of the regulatory maze surrounding the nightclub, raising hard questions about how a disputed, controversial establishment managed to gain official legitimacy just days before it turned into a death trap.
