A Colva hotel was in the news this week for its illegalities and action by NGT for demolition, after a painstaking follow up work by the Colva Civic and Consumer forum. My question is how did the Colva Village panchayat (current and past representatives) and Tourism Dept (current and past directors/ministers) allow such an illegality and even give various permissions despite being presented with ample proof of gross illegalities by the said hotel. This menace which is allowed by the authorities seems to be rampant across Goa's coastal belt. I have seen some positive news with Courts now slowing moving to make Director of Panchayats, panchas and even secretaries (present/past) party to rampant illegalities eg. Anjuna and Arambol recently. My request to the judiciary is to go a step further and also make the respective panchayat and tourism ministers party to address the menace as it is well known in Goa, that the corrupt Goa govt administration cannot operate without the backing of ruling ministers. Tackling this will go a long way in addressing corruption/illegalities in Goa.
