GCZMA directed to move fast on Calangute NDZ structure

PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has granted two months to the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to comply with its earlier order in a matter relating to an alleged unauthorised structure in a No Development Zone (NDZ) at Calangute.
The time was granted while disposing of a miscellaneous civil application filed by the GCZMA member secretary, seeking four months to comply with the order on the ground that the authority is presently non-functional after the expiry of its term and that its reconstitution proposal is pending with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Suman Shyam and Justice Amit Jamdar observed that there was no clarity on when the new authority would come into force. Taking note of the submission that the proposal for reconstitution is still pending with the Centre, the Bench recorded that the GCZMA had sought four months to implement the court’s directions.
However, the court limited the time period and, in its order, granted only two months for compliance, to be reckoned from the date the reconstituted GCZMA comes into existence pursuant to an appropriate notification issued by the Central government. “This application stands disposed of by giving two months from the existence of GCZMA based on an appropriate notification issued by the Central government,” the Bench stated.
In its earlier order to a writ petition, the High Court had made it clear that if the concerned bar and restaurant - as alleged in the petition - was found to be illegal and not permissible under the Coastal Regulation Zone norms, it would have to be demolished, irrespective of the ownership of the structure or the person running the business.
The court had also granted additional time to the GCZMA to process its report and take appropriate action, stating, “... we hope and trust that the Village Panchayat as well as the GCZMA will act with all responsibility....”