PANJIM: The Director of Panchayats on Friday vacated interim stay granted to seven operators of dance bars at Calangute and dismissed their appeals to quash the Calangute panchayat order for demolition of their structures.
The Director of Panchayats disposed of seven appeals following directions by the High Court of Bombay at Goa to hear the appeals as expeditiously as possible and to dispose them latest by January 5.
Earlier, the Director of Panchayats who is also holding the charge of Additional Director of Panchayats had granted interim stay to seven dance bars namely Mehfil, Devils Club, Three Kings, Club Tao, Posh Nosh, Chawla Dilliwala and Black Heart, after the Calangute village panchayat issued them orders for demolition and revocation of their trade licences for allegedly operating dance bars in the illegal structures without obtaining occupancy certificates and beyond 11 pm.
In their demolition and revocation of trade licences orders in July last year, the Calangute panchayat had cancelled their trade licences for violation of licence conditions and had resolved to demolish the illegal structures as per the inspection report.
The Calangute panchayat had earlier asked these operators to demolish the illegal structures within 15 days from receipt of the order failing which the panchayat will demolish them. They were also directed not to operate the restaurant and to stop the trade in the premises as it was operated late night beyond 11 pm, in violation of terms and conditions of licence.
During the last hearing, Adv Pranoy Kamat had stated that the panchayat had already issued demolition notices to seven parties, who later obtained interim orders from the Additional Director of Panchayats. He said that for the past one year, no effective hearings had taken place before the Additional Director of Panchayats since the post was vacant. Also because of interim orders, the demolitions could not be carried out, and the parties continued with their commercial activities in these illegal structures.
Adv Kamat stated that show cause notices to another five establishments will be issued within a week and same will be disposed of within a month from the receipt of response.
Arguing on behalf of the petitioners’ former Calangute panchayat member Sudesh Mayekar and Kundan Kerkar, Adv Rohit Bras De Sa had told the court that 13 dance bars were operating through structures /buildings which had no licences or occupancy certificates.
The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) had already sealed 11 establishments which were running dance bars after it was found that they were operating without consent to operate.
