Owingto public pressure, Deputy CM had grandly declared that the illegal structureat Old Goa will be demolished soon. A month has passed, but things have notchanged in the least on the ground. In a statement, the Old Goa Panchayat saidthat it is 'looking' to issue a demolition order to the controversial bungalowwithin eight days.
Theauthorities had earlier served a show-cause notice but it was insolentlyresponded to by the owners saying that the letter itself was mala fide, notbased on facts and patently illegal. In fact, the exterior painting work of thebungalow has been completed during the period of agitation.
In thelatest statement from the panchayat, it is mentioned that the legal process isbeing followed to demolish the building; towards this end, an urgent meeting'shall' be convened within the next 4 to 5 days and that the village body'intends' to issue a demolition order within 6 days. Do note that all the wordsused in the statement are indicative of indefiniteness, 'shall', 'intend'etc.
Thegovernment is tom-tomming the fact that the construction license and itssubsequent renewal have been revoked, but of what use is a revocation after thebuilding has been erected. The Old Goa panchayat is going through the motionsof taking 'measurements' at the site (for what, if an order for demolition hasalready been issued) simply to stall proceedings and pacify the agitators tillsuch time the elections are done. The fact that the house belongs to a BJPfunctionary in itself is a guarantee that no harm shall come to it. It is timefor courts to step in and take some definitive action.
