OLD GOA
As the kiosks on the footpath in front of their residences have resurfaced, residents of Vailankanni Apartments and Carl Centre, Old Goa, have approached the Goa Human Rights Commission yet again, citing contempt of its orders.
In the petition submitted to GHRC on Wednesday, the residents have pointed out that the kiosks disappeared overnight just before the hearing of the Commission, which had directed the Se Old Goa panchayat to ensure the removal of encroachments on the footpath.
The order was passed on January 20, and the panchayat was given 60 days to clear the encroachments.
“On March 21, the secretary said in your court that he had cleared the footpath, and the matter was disposed of. But the fact is that the panchayat secretary did not clear the footpath. The stalls were removed from the footpath by the persons who were running the business at midnight on March 18,” the residents pointed out in their petition.
They stated that once the matter was disposed of on March 21, the kiosks resurfaced yet again.
“On March 21, the matter was disposed of as the secretary gave in writing that the footpath was cleared, but on March 23, all the illegal stalls were put back on the footpath,” the petition further states.
The residents have further demanded that the GHRC should inform the higher authorities about the remiss in duty of the Se Old Goa panchayat authorities and ensure the complete removal of encroachments from the footpath.
The residents have also quoted the observations of the Delhi High Court that “Human Rights Commissions are not to be ‘toothless tigers’ but have to be ‘fierce defenders’ safeguarding the most basic right of humans, i.e. the right to live without fear and to live with dignity.”
