Residents of Arossim have hailed a High Court order by the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court (HC) comprising Jus tice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit S Jamsandekar in a public interest litiga tion (PIL) challenging a proposed hotel project on ecologically sensitive coast al land, saying the ruling ef fectively prevents the pro ject from proceeding in its current form. In a statement issued af ter the order in PIL WP 51 of 2024, villagers said the HC had held that the tech nical clearance granted for the project cannot be acted upon, and recorded submis sions on behalf of the State that the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) permissions granted for the project had expired. “The destruction of our pristine environ ment was prevented by the timely intervention by the High Court,” the statement said, adding that the ruling has protected sand dunes, low-lying paddy fields, water bodies and natural drainage channels that form a critical part of the village’s flood management system. The petition was filed by Arossim residents Jose Joaquim Fernandes, Darick Azavedo, Piedade Cardozo and Norman Fernandes af ter learning that the village panchayat was likely to is sue a construction licence for the project despite op position from residents and a local panch member.
Villagers alleged that the project had been pursued since 1990, with clearanc es obtained over time from multiple authorities, in cluding the Ministry of En vironment and Forests, the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), the Water Resources Depart ment (WRD) and the Ag riculture Department, de spite sustained resistance from the local community. While disposing of the petition, the HC recorded that the technical clearance granted by the TCP Depart ment on March 13, 2020 cannot be acted upon. This means no construction ac tivity can proceed at the site as matters stand. The court also took on re cord submissions made on behalf of the State that CRZ permissions granted by the GCZMA in 2013 and 2017 had expired. This position was disputed by the project proponent, and the court did not adjudicate on the validity of those clearances.
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With the technical clear ance no longer operative, the project cannot proceed in the absence of fresh ap provals, effectively halting any immediate work at the site. The court further direct ed that if any fresh permis sions are sought, including from the GCZMA, the peti tioners must be given an opportunity to be heard. It also granted liberty to the villagers to challenge any future approvals, keeping the issue open for further legal scrutiny. Supporting the villagers, Abhijit Prabhudesai of Rain bow Warriors described the order as a major win for the community and hit out at the state government and the local panchayat over the handling of the project. “I believe this is a landmark victory for Arossim vil lagers against attempts to build a massive hotel on sand dunes and low-lying paddy fields. Congratula tions Arossim! Congratula tions Goa!” The petition raised several grounds against the project, including the absence of a mandatory 6-metre-wide ac cess road as required under the Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations, 2010.
It point ed out that the project site lies over 200 metres from the nearest tarred road, with inspection findings showing that the existing access road is only between 3.8 and 4.5 metres wide. It further alleged that the proposed access routes passed through sand dunes and areas falling within the No Development Zone (NDZ) of 0–200 metres from the High Tide Line, in viola tion of the Coastal Regula tion Zone Notification, 2011. The petition also highlight ed that the project site in cludes low-lying paddy fields that act as natural flood buff ers for the village. It warned that filling these areas for construction would disrupt drainage patterns and in crease flood risk. The plea relied on direc tions issued by the Nation al Green Tribunal (NGT) in September 2020, which called for identification and protection of low-lying are as and water bodies in Aros sim. It also cited provisions of the Goa State Action Plan on Climate Change, which flag coastal stretches as vul nerable to flooding. Villagers said some of their broader demands, including demarcation of sand dunes and low-lying areas and im plementation of climate ad aptation measures, were not examined following disposal of the main matter. They also urged the gov ernment to adhere to its cli mate action commitments, pointing out that official projections indicate that around 15 per cent of Goa’s land is at risk due to climate change. They warned that coastal communities would step up efforts to protect sensitive areas if such pro jects continue.
