Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Friday has directed the EDM festival organisers to pay the dues of last five years from 2011-15 to various government departments until which permissions to host the festival will not be granted.
Addressing a press conference in the city, Trajano D’Mello said that the state government is sluggish on recovering the pending dues from the Electronic Dance Music (EDMs) festivals Sunburn and Supersonic.
“The government is dragging its feet on recovering the pending dues of approximately Rs six crores to the various government departments from the EDM organisers of Sunburn and Supersonic festivals,” said D’Mello.
“A common person’s electricity connection is disconnected if the bill is not paid within the prescribed date. Then why is the government not doing anything to recover the huge dues of Rs six crore from the two festival organisers?” he asked.
Further stating that Goa government had failed to act on a similar order passed by the High Court last year to recover the dues and the petitioner had also filed the petition in which he alleged that government as well as the EDM organisers had tried different pressure tactics to silence the petitioner.
D’Mello has also demanded immediate sacking of Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar and has alleged that the government has shielded these organisers of EDM fests as they were hand in gloved with them for illegal supply of drugs at the venue.
Meanwhile, advocate of the petitioner, Rohit Bras De Sa, said that there was uncertainty with respect to holding the EDM festivals, but now we have cleared that doubt as the High Court has directed the EDM festival organisers to pay the dues of last five years amounting to Rs six crores to various government departments until which permissions to host the festival will not be granted.
“We had filed a fresh petition before the vacation bench of the High Court of Bombay at Goa, after the tourism minister was thinking of considering and granting permission to the EDM festival organisers and the HC has given strict directions that no permission will be granted unless the dues are cleared or if the organisers give some bank guarantee,” said advocate De Sa.
Therefore the High Court in a notice dated 26.09.2016 to the festival organiser has directed to remit an amount of “Rs 84,41,232 and Rs 21,37,597 towards police bandobast and traffic management and service tax from 2011-14 to this department within 21 days from the receipt of the notice, failing which no permission shall be granted to your organization to hold any future events in the State of Goa and dues will be recovered under land revenue code.”
