PANAJI
“At present there is no valid NOC or permissions granted to any purely temporary seasonal structures, shacks, huts, cottages, etc, in the CRZ areas, therefore any persons who still have such purely temporary seasonal structures erected in their property are hereby called upon to remove or dismantle the same forthwith without any further delay within ten days failing which stringent penal action would be initiated which may lead to imprisonment,” the department has stated.
It may be recalled that the NGT had revoked all permissions granted by GCZMA saying that they were in violation of its directions granted in a petition filed by one Aleixo Arnolfo Pereira. The All Goa Private Shack and Huts Owners Association had appealed against the order in the High Court but their appeal was dismissed.
Pereira has alleged that the orders of the NGT are being openly flouted by the Goa government and the now expired GCZMA, saying that he himself is aware of many violators.
The Department has asked people who are aware of such violations to come forward, but Pereira has promised to include the violations in an affidavit he seeks to file before the NGT when the case next comes up for hearing.
“The Department of Environment has also appealed to citizens to provide information and to report violations to this department by filing an appropriate complaint setting out requisite details as to nature of the violation, property details such as survey numbers location such as village and ward number, locality name along with name of the alleged violator and photographs depicting the violation to this department,” the department said.
