Orders sealing of jetties sans valid permissions
MAPUSA
Pulled up sharply by the National Green Tribunal for failing to curb illegal jetty operations, the State authorities have finally moved to act, ordering the immediate sealing of all jetties operating without valid permissions along the Goan coast.
In an order issued on February 18, the Director of Environment and Member Secretary of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), Sachin Desai, directed the Deputy Collector and Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Bardez to forthwith seal all jetties functioning without requisite approvals.
The order further stated that such jetties must not be allowed to resume operations until they secure valid permissions under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) framework.
A compliance report has been sought within 48 hours.
The move comes barely three weeks after the NGT rapped the GCZMA for what it termed as a lackadaisical approach in dealing with violations.
Hearing a petition filed by Dikshay Phadte, the Tribunal had come down heavily on the coastal regulator for failing to take decisive action against six jetties found to be operating illegally.
The Tribunal had categorically directed the GCZMA to immediately stop operations of the errant jetties, warning that continued inaction would invite financial penalties against the authority.
It observed that merely issuing show-cause notices did not amount to compliance with its earlier directives.
“The first and foremost thing was their operations ought to have been stopped forthwith,” the Tribunal noted, expressing displeasure that the jetties were allowed to continue functioning under the guise of procedural formalities.
Phadte, in his petition before the NGT, had alleged that several jetties along the Goan coast were operating without mandatory CRZ clearances, raising concerns over environmental degradation and regulatory violations.
The issue of unregulated jetty operations has surfaced repeatedly in recent years, with activists and residents flagging their ecological impact on fragile coastal stretches.
However, it was only after the green court’s stern warning and threat of penalties that the authorities appear to have shaken off their inertia and issued concrete directions to seal the illegal structures.
