CALANGUTE: The Calangute locals have alleged that illegal land-filling is being carried out in a beachside property belonging to the department of tourism at Gauravaddo, Calangute, with the authorities turning a blind eye.
Activists and locals said they have filed complaints with the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), department of tourism, Calangutevillage panchayat and others, despite which the land-filling using construction debris is still being carried out barely 50metres from the hightide line (HTL) in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules.
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“At least 20 truckloads of construction waste has been dumped on land which belongs to the tourism department by the owner of a neighbouring property to create a parking area for his hotel. The dumping is happening in eco-sensitive beach area which has disturbed the sand dunes and beach vegetation. The dumping activity has also resulted in landfilling of the low-lying area in order to make an illegal parking area. This has been going on for several days,” a resident said.
The villagers recently caught a truck driver, who had come to dump construction debris at the spot and handed him over to the Calangute police. The truck was also seized by police.
