MAPUSA
The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has ordered the demolition of an illegal structure in coastal Siolim, ruling that the occupants had misused the Mundkar Act to justify ownership of multiple properties on government land.
The GCZMA’s investigation revealed that one of the respondents had constructed a house around 2011, without obtaining any permission from the coastal authority.
In their defence, the respondents “ Nifty Fernandes, Joe Fernandes and Severina Fernandes “ relied on a Mundkar order issued by the Joint Mamlatdar of Bardez in 2000 claiming that they were in occupation of the structures prior to 1991.
They contended that their dwelling house stood in Survey No 119/12 and an outhouse in Survey No 119/11.
However, the GCZMA noted serious inconsistencies in their claims. It observed that the Joint Mamlatdar had declared the same person a mundkar in two different survey numbers, which are geographically distant and do not share a common boundary “ a situation contrary to the very definition of a mundkar under the law.
Citing Section 2(p) of the Goa, Daman and Diu Mundkars (Protection from Eviction) Act, 1975, the GCZMA emphasised that a mundkar is a person residing with a “fixed habitation” in a single dwelling house.
“A person cannot claim fixed habitation in two different places simultaneously within the same city. Once an individual has been declared a mundkar for one house, they cannot claim mundkar status for another,” the GCZMA noted.
The coastal authority found that the respondents had taken undue advantage of the mundkar order to legitimise an illegally reconstructed structure. It also confirmed that the existing structures under Survey Nos 119/11 and 119/12 had been demolished and rebuilt with both horizontal and vertical extensions, far exceeding their original plinth area.
To verify the claims, the GCZMA conducted a fresh site inspection and mapping, superimposing the current structures on the original survey plan. The inspection clearly showed that the structures no longer existed in their original form or location as they were at the time of promulgation.
In view of these findings, the GCZMA ordered demolition of the illegal construction and directed the Deputy Collector to identify the original, legally recorded plinth and remove all extensions beyond that limit.
The authority further instructed that the demolition be executed under the supervision of the Deputy Collector, who had earlier conducted the field inquiry.
