AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
Res idents of Goa, especially along the coastal belt, have long suspected that com mercial establishments have been mushrooming across Anjuna’s ecologi cally sensitive Coastal Reg ulation Zone (CRZ) with little meaningful over sight. Now, an RTI reply from the Village Panchayat of Anjuna appears to have reinforced those concerns. In a disclosure that has raised uncomfortable questions over the manner in which trade licences are issued in one of the State’s busiest beach belts, the Village Panchayat of Anju na has admitted under the Right to Information Act, that no site inspection was conducted before issuing a trade licence to an es tablishment located in the CRZ area. The Anjuna Panchayat was replying to an RTI sought by local resident Balbhim Malvankar. Section 2 (IV) on page 25, specifically states: “The Panchayat shall compulsorily obtain and retain in the file of the con cerned party the details of repairs, the Inspection Report and the copy of the permission granted in the prescribed format.”
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That no inspection was carried out at a site falling within the CRZ did not surprise RTI applicant Balbhim Malvankar. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. I filed just one RTI con cerning one business in the CRZ area because most of us villagers are already aware of what is happening in the CRZ areas of our village,” alleged Malvankar. Malvankar and other locals are of the opinion that “most establishments operating in CRZ areas are doing so in com plete violation of CRZ norms” and that their complaints to the authorities have fallen on deaf ears. Apart from the alleged CRZ violations, many establish ments along the CRZ belt have repeatedly been accused of breaching the noise pollution norms laid down by the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court, an issue that has increas ingly frustrated local residents.
The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court, in Public Inter est Litigation (Suo Motu) No 2 of 2022 read with Miscellane ous Civil Application No 146 of 2024, ordered the sealing of 170 establishments located in CRZ areas under the jurisdic tion of the Village Panchayat of Anjuna. Six establishments operating in the CRZ area have, at var ious points, according to documents accessed by O Heraldo, been sealed by the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSP CB) for violating noise pollution norms. “It is very clear that many of these places obtained trade licences from the Panchayat to operate bars and restaurants but are instead functioning as nightclubs, where even ciga rettes are being sold,” alleged Malvankar while sharing the RTI documents. “The GCZMA,” according to local resident Ana Fernandes, “grants permission to these establishments to put up tem porary structures in the CRZ area, but it is clear to everyone that concrete is being used.” “With so many permanent structures coming up in are as where only temporary structures are permitted, we are forced to approach the courts. By the time the matter is heard, our natural environment has already been destroyed.
There is nothing left,” she lamented. “I am not aware of all the details, but if a site inspection was not carried out, it was probably because the panchayat had received a letter from the GCZMA confirming that the structure had been approved after due diligence. If the GCZ MA finds no problem, the panchayat has no problem,” ex plained Laxmidas Chimulkar, former Sarpanch of the Village Panchayat of Anjuna and currently a panch. “CRZ is an ecologically sensitive area and several laws govern activities there. Even if the GCZMA grants approval, it is mandatory for panchayats to carry out a site inspection, preferably along with GCZMA officials, to verify whether any concrete or permanent structures have been erected, espe cially in the No Development Zone (NDZ), and to confirm the zoning of the site,” explained Sharlet Fernandes, former Sarpanch of the Village Panchayat of Majorda-Utorda-Calata and currently a panch. “The role of the GCZMA is to lay down guidelines for en trepreneurs.
There are other authorities responsible for ver ifying compliance before licences to operate are issued,” said a member of the GCZMA legal team, requesting anonymity. “There are establishments in the CRZ area operating with out licences, yet no action is being taken. The show must go on in Anjuna, and our next focus will be filing RTIs to obtain details of trade licences issued to all establishments operat ing in CRZ areas,” promised local resident Roysal D’Souza.
