AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
The de-seal ing of eight establishments on Tito’s Lane, sealed by the Calangute Panchayat fol lowing a report by the Joint Enforcement and Monitor ing Committee (JEMC), has surprised locals, who say the state government has learnt no lessons from the Birch by Romeo Lane disas ter in which 20 people lost their lives. The Directorate of Panchayats’ decision to al low them to function has fuelled talk among locals that the government is put ting revenue before public health and safety. A JEMC report accessed by O Heraldo had red flagged eight nightclubs on Tito’s Lane for non-com pliance with 11 mandatory checklists. The checklists covered construction licence/oc cupancy certificate; NOC for the structure from the local body/planning au thority (in case of no CL/ OC); structural stability certificate; consent to op erate from the Goa State Pollution Control Board; fire NOC and fire safety measures; excise licence; electrical safety measures; CRZ licence along with the approved plan (in case of a CRZ area); form 1 & 14 and ownership documents; an undertaking by the owner that no pyrotechnics, fire crackers, fireworks or in flammable material would be used; and trade and oc cupation licence. A circular dated Decem ber 29, 2025, issued by the Office of the District Magistrate, North Goa, to the Chief Town Planner, Chief Engineer PWD, Chief Engineer, Goa Electricity Department, Director of Panchayats, Director of Fire & Emergency Servic es and Director of GCZMA stated:“In view of the re cent tragic fire incident at Arpora and in order to ensure strict adherence to mandatory norms and statutory compliances in tourism-related establish ments across the North Goa district, the Govern ment has constituted a Joint Enforcement and Monitoring Committee (JEMC).” The JEMC report was shared by the Directorate of Panchayats with the Block Development Officer (BDO), who in turn forwarded it to the Calangute Panchayat for action. The report, accessed by O Heraldo, indicated that some establishments were non-compliant with certain aspects of the checklist, while others were closed on the dates scheduled for inspection.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
“After receiving the Joint Enforcement & Monitoring Committee Report, the Panchayat visited the establishments mentioned and after ascertaining that they were functioning without adhering to the compliance checklist, the Panchayat took the decision to seal them,” stated Joseph Sequeira, Sarpanch of Calangute Panchayat. After they were sealed, the affected establishments appealed against the deci sion to the Directorate of Panchayats.
An order accessed by O Heraldo cited the loss of revenue through the “loss of daily GST earning” as being detrimental to the State. “They have sealed the properties and therefore their business had stopped. So, we ordered the de-sealing of the properties,” explained Dasharath M Redkar, Director of Panchayats. When O Heraldo asked whether the safety of people was less important than revenue, Redkar acknowledged that it wasn’t, but added a rider: “But these out lets were running earlier.” Redkar also said that, subsequent to the order de-sealing the units, the gov ernment had issued a new circular. Parts of the circular dated August 25, 2026, read: “The Government has con sidered the severe hardships and loss of livelihood faced by small traders, local business operators and villagers to whom trade licences/NOCs/Permissions were issued by the Village Panchayat prior to 21/08/2025. In this regard, the following instructions are issued for guidance of the Panchayats.” The four-point circular states that “Panchayats shall renew trade licences/ NOCs/Permissions which were validly issued prior to 21-08-2025, upon receipt of application for renewal.” The second point states that “it is made clear that no new trade licence/NOC/ Permission for commercial activity shall be issued to any premises without a valid Occupancy Certificate.” The third point stresses that “the renewal of trade licence/NOC/Permission shall be entirely without prejudice to any proceedings, if any, under the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 or any other law or any orders proceedings passed by the Hon’ble High Court or competent Courts.” Lastly, the circular states: “The applicant/licensee shall submit an affidavit stating that the renewal of the trade licence/NOC/Permission shall not grant them any legal immunity over the premises in any ongoing or future proceed ings.” The order to de-seal the premises and the subsequent circular have not gone down well with small businessmen operating around most of the eight estab lishments that have been de-sealed. “It now looks like that the statements made by the government and the com mittees set up after the Romeo Lane tragedy were just an eyewash.
It is obvious that safety is of concern to the Calangute Panchayat. But, the same cannot be said of the government,” said a businessman in Tito’s Lane on condition of an onymity. “God forbid, if there is a fire here, my business is gone and I do not know where we will run,” he added
