Residents of Anjuna have been left shocked by ongoing construction activity on Survey No 43/1, where trees on a coastal slope have been felled and replaced with mud and stone, allegedly under the pretext of building an anti-sea protection wall. “Part of our hill is vanishing and with it, all the greenery. This was the place we used to come to pick berries and other fruits. We cannot keep being quiet anymore. If the work does not stop, we will rise to gether,” said local resident Michael Rodrigues, as concerned villagers gathered to discuss how to resist what they see as an assault on their environment. Survey records from Bhunaksha Goa confirm that the 2,100 sq me tre plot lies along a coastal slope in South Anjuna. An RTI reply ac cessed by O Heraldo from the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authori ty (GCZMA) shows that permission for an “anti-sea protection wall” on the property was granted in No vember 2024. However, what started as sur prise over the construction of a wall soon turned to concern when heavy machinery began felling trees and dumping truckloads of stone and mud onto the fragile terrain. “It really got us worried when last week, we started seeing around ten big trucks dumping mud and stone every day. With no clue of what was happening, we asked a friend to call the flying squad yesterday after noon,” said a visibly upset Lazar D’Souza. Villagers shared a screenshot of a complaint regis tered with emergency services on Sunday, October 19, 2025. The message read: Dear User, your request to 112 is registered with Event ID: 319957. Though the flying squad visited the site, work was not halted. “The flying squad did come after the call but the work was not stopped. The workers carried on with their work though they appeared reluctant afterwards. I think no one has come to work today as it is Diwa li,” said environmental activist Balbhim Tukaram Mal vankar.
In addition to tree cutting and land-filling, residents also observed the digging of a large culvert dangerous ly close to the coastline — within what they claim is a CRZ-III zone, also classified as a No Development Zone (NDZ). While GCZMA permission was granted for the con struction of a sea protection wall, it does not auto matically allow the cutting of trees or modification of terrain, particularly in ecologically sensitive areas. Sep arate permissions from forest and local panchayat bod ies would be re-quired for such activities. According to the same RTI, GCZMA received 149 ap plications for construction in CRZ areas between March 2022 and March 2025, of which 40 remain pending. “A few people called me to inquire about the work go ing on in Survey No. 43/1, and like them, I too am at a loss to understand whether any permission was really given for such destruction of nature,” said Satyan Har malkar, Chairman of the Anjuna Biodiversity Board. Harmalkar is convinced the site lies in a CRZ-III zone and expressed concern over inconsistencies in GCZMA reporting. “When they came to inspect another proper ty, they stated in their report that vegetation and sand dunes were visible. However, in their final report, the pres-ence of vegetation and sand dunes were not men tioned. I cannot understand how their report on the same property can vary?” he questioned. The Goa government’s own open mapping resource, amche.in, also indicates that the area where trees have been felled and land filled falls squarely within the NDZ (CRZ-III). Former Anjuna Sarpanch Laxmidas Chimulkar con firmed that no local approval had been issued. “The panchayat has not given any permission for hill cutting or to build any wall by the sea on Survey No. 43/1. Per mission has not been given for any sort of work on the survey number you are discussing,” he said. Chimulkar added that he held office until Saturday and that a new sarpanch had yet to be elected. For many residents, the ongoing construction is just the latest in a pattern of encroachments and environ mental violations. “We started to smell something fishy when a small bridge built by locals was demolished and a big one was built by the WRD. At first, we wondered the need of having such a bridge until we were told it was for infrastructure development,” said Helen Fer nandes, a long-time resident. With confidence in authorities dwindling, villagers say they are prepared to take their fight to the courts. “If work does not stop, we plan to take our fight to the next level. We are even ready to knock the doors of the High Court,” said a member of the Anjuna Parish Pasto ral Council (PPC), speaking on condition of anonymity.
