MONDAY, MAY 13, 2024
Team Herald
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed as withdrawn the petition of Joao Luis Fernandes of Candolim village in Bardez, directing him to challenge the demolition order of September 2018 the National Green Tribunal (NGT) within seven days through a statutory appeal.
He had come to the Apex Court to challenge dismissal of his writ petition by the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court for quashing the NGT order that had confirmed the order of the Goa Coast Management Authority (GCZMA) directing demolition of his structure in Candolim.
The Bench of Justices Uday Umesh Lalit, Vineet Saran and Ajay Rastogi allowed his counsel to withdraw the petition since he already has to remedy to file the statutory appeal, noting that the High Court had also dismissed his writ in view of the availability of the remedy of an appeal under Section 22 of the NGT Act, 2010.
Fernandes' case was that his residential house and five shops existed on his plot No 44/2 prior to 1990 and he has all relevant permissions and no objection certificates from all competent authorities.
The GCZMA, however, undertook investigation on a complaint by one Pedrito Misquitta that the structures were built after 1991 in violation of the 1991 Coastal Zone Management Regulations and so they should be demolished. GCZMA directed him to demolish the structures on the ground they were built only after 1994-95 in violation of the CRZ 1991.
