MARGAO
Days after the sand dune cutting activity at Pedda-Varca raised an uproar in the village, none of the authorities have filed any complaint with the Colva police till date against the persons involved in the illegal activity.
When The Goan called upon the Colva police to shed light on the progress of investigations into the illegal sand dune cutting at Pedda-Varca reported earlier this week, a senior police officer pointed out that no agency has so far filed any complaint with the police till date.
The flying squad as well as the Colva police had rushed to Pedda after receiving a complaint that a sand dune has been cut to make way for a road to the beach. While the flying squad was believed to have noted down the details of the inspection, the agency has so far not filed any complaint with the Colva police.
“The police cannot initiate the investigations until they receive a complaint from the flying squad. The issue is technical in nature, involving the survey numbers and the cutting of the sand dune. The police would act after a complaint is received from the flying squad”, the police stated.
Interestingly, the Varca village panchayat along with the Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas had deployed a JCB Machine to restore the sand dune, with the MLA even saying the Varca panchayat has set the trend in the restoration of sand dunes in the state.
Meanwhile, Varca resident Warren Alemao has demanded to know whether the law is different for the rich and the mighty. Saying that it is now five days since the sand dune was cut by some persons, Warren demanded to know why the restoration of the sand dune is not complete till date.
He pointed out that the Government of India has Notified sand dunes as one among the important geo-morphological features in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2011 (CRZ 1A). “I will personally lodge complaints in the concerned government departments next week if the Varca Sarpanch fails to do so”, he said, adding “we have to unitedly Fight to protect and preserve our environment for our Future Generations”.
