FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2024
However, carrying out business illegally has become the accepted norm and order of the day in Goa as the government has failed to act against illegalities in every sector. The panchayats and the State have miserably failed to come down with a heavy hand on the illegal scrapyards mushrooming across Goa.
There is not a single month in the year when you can escape the news of scrapyards going up in flames. Apart from the hazardous chemicals that these fires add to the atmosphere, the danger to human lives keeps ticking like a bomb.
The government is completely unaware of the activities that are carried out within these scrapyards, and with complete opacity in operations, the illegal scrapyards could also possibly be dens for criminals and criminal activities.
Recently, Goa Police carried out a drive against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and most of these detained immigrants were attached to scrapyards. The Chief Minister had stated that migrants set up their crime business in Goa, however, he has missed out on the fact that many of the crimes within the premises of these illegal scrapyards go unnoticed.
Thus, the question that remains is how can so many illegal scrapyards keep operating under the nose of the panchayats?
A reply from the Directorate of Panchayats to an unstarred question raised by the St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar during the winter session of the Goa Legislative Assembly in January this year, reveals that complaints filed against illegal scrapyards are pending before the local civic bodies for as long as two decades.
A complaint was filed in December 2003, against an illegal scrapyard in Queula Panchayat, however, except for issuing a notice no action has been taken and business continues as usual. The Department’s reply further exposes the lethargy of panchayat officials and MLAs in safeguarding the environment and acting against illegalities, as cases pending for a decade or more is a norm.
As per the official data, the Colvale village panchayat, which is in the limelight for illegal scrapyards, has 34 cases pending and only one illegal scrapyard has been demolished so far. While the panchayat seems satisfied by issuing show cause notices followed by demolition orders, the cases keep pending as they are challenged and linger around in files of the Directorate of Panchayats for years.
MLA Borkar had filed a complaint at the Merces Panchayat against an illegal scrapyard in September 2020, but the case is pending action since it has been challenged before the Director of Panchayats.
All the panchayats issue show cause notices under Section 66 (3) of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act of 1994, which is envisaged for ‘Regulation of the erection of buildings’. However, the same Section provides for a free-for-all construction licence system as permission shall be deemed to have been granted if the village panchayat and the Deputy Director of Panchayats fails to respond to the application within 60 days.
Further, action against any illegalities is expected within the stipulated time and failure to demolish and take action against illegal structures is akin to ‘remiss in the performance of duties’, is what Section 66 of the Act explains at the end.
Therefore, the noise by the elected representatives against the illegal scrapyards mushrooming across the State is a sham as no scrapyard can operate without the permission of the civic bodies and action is mandatory if any of such structures are erected.
Local representatives as well as officials from all the departments concerned seem to be hand-in-glove in promoting illegal scrapyards in the State.
The Government of the day has a responsibility to protect the lives of its citizens, as illegal scrapyards without any certification are proving to be the gateway for numerous other illegalities and crimes in Goa.
