Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has upheld the order of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) directing demolition of illegal structures of the Hotel Silver Sands situated at Colva.
The petitioner Hotel Silver Sands has filed the writ petition challenging order dated October 25, 2021 passed by the GCZMA directing the petitioner to demolish all the structures in the property located in Colva village. The petitioner said that the GCZMA passed the impugned order on a review of its own earlier order, which was impermissible and prayed that the impugned order be set aside.
The court observed that writ petition was filed by the court while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) had issued directions to authorities including the GCZMA, to take action against illegal constructions in the State. In pursuance of the same, the GCZMA conducted inquiry and on the basis of the material collected, it issued notices for personal hearing to various parties including the petitioner.
The GCZMA had found that the petitioner had failed to place approvals on record and also failed to justify the structure’s existence in village.
Thus the GCZMA passed demolition order against all the structures of the petitioner at Colva.
Aggrieved by the demolition order, the petitioner filed an appeal before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), who by an order dated January 3, 2019 dismissed the appeal, thereby confirming the directions issued by the GCZMA. The petitioner then filed an appeal before the Supreme Court, who also dismissed the appeal on January 18, 2019, as a consequence of which, the order/direction issued by the GCZMA on December 5, 2018, attained finality.
