AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
The Goa Coastal Zone Management Author ity (GCZMA) is facing contempt proceedings for allegedly failing to comply with a High Court of Bombay at Goa order directing it to decide two complaints against alleged illegal constructions in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) at Cansaulim within four months. The High Court, in its December 10, 2025 order in Writ Petition No 3096 of 2025 (F), directed the GCZMA to “decide the petition ers complaint dated January 11, 2023 and June 10, 2022 within a period of four months, by giv ing sufficient opportunity to all the aggrieved concerned and affected parties.” That deadline expired on April 10, 2026.
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Yet, nearly six months later, the complaints remain un decided and have now been posted for October 6, 2026. The order was passed by Justices Ashish S Chavan and Sarang V Kotwal after the complainant approached the High Court following years of delays before the GCZMA. The first complaint was filed on June 10, 2022, and the second on January 11, 2023. Data accessed by O Heraldo shows that the matter has been repeatedly pushed from one hearing to another. The GCZMA has held over 35 meetings since the complaints were filed, with the matter adjourned eight times, meet ings unable to take place on four occasions, cancelled five times and posted for orders on three occasions before the Authority was reconstituted through a Central Govern ment order dated February 26, 2026. The delays have continued even after the new GCZMA was constituted.
Since its reconstitution, the matter has been postponed six times, despite the Authority record ing that it was acting in the knowledge of the High Court’s time-bound direction. Its own proceedings state: “In view of the hearing of the final arguments in the High Court direction matter, time is granted and matter is posted on August 18, 2026 at 3.30 pm.” The matter was subsequently carried forward again and is now scheduled for October 6 — almost 10 months after the High Court issued its direction. The alleged non-compliance has now been challenged before the High Court through a Contempt Petition filed by petitioner Stanley Barros Pereira, stating, “The directions issued by the Hon’ble high Court on December 10, 2025 has not been complied with.” The petition further points to the expiry of the court-mandated period and the Authority’s repeated postponements. “The four month period specifically granted by the Hon’ble High Court expired on April 10, 2026, yet the com plaints remain undecided even today and have now been carried forward to October 6, 2026. What is of particu lar significance is that the Authority’s own proceedings demonstrate that it was aware of the fact that the matters were subject to directions and were time-bound.
The Au thority has itself recorded in its proceedings that the mat ters were being heard under directions which were time bound.” The contempt petition also states that, despite the High Court’s direction not being complied with within the pre scribed period, “no order extending the time was obtained from the Hon’ble High Court”. “Despite expiry of the period, the matters have contin ued to be adjourned and remain to be undecided,” reads the Contempt Petition. The prolonged pendency has also fuelled wider criti cism of the GCZMA’s functioning. Dr Aashish Kamat, Pres ident of United Goan Foundation (UGF), said, “It is a com promised entity. They are not following the rules in the true spirit. Goa has actually been put at risk by them. They are aware of the violations being committed and they pre fer to pretend everything is okay.” “Instead of protecting Goa and Goans, they prefer to sell what little is left by ignoring what we are fighting for. If one does an audit of their decisions, one will come across huge compromises,” added Dr Kamat. Retired Captain Gerald Fernandes said repeated post ponements can effectively prolong the status quo in cases involving alleged violations. “The habit of postponing hearings is to allow the of fenders to carry out their business. By keeping matters pending, the GCZMA actually indirectly colludes with the offenders, and this is not how it should be.” “Also,” Fernandes went on to say, “most of the staff used by GCZMA for inspections etc are on contract.
They can be impressed upon by the Secretary to give whatever report the secretary wants.” Activist Desmond Alvares, who said he has also faced repeated postponements before the Authority, described the experience as another example of what he called a sys temic problem. “I am fed up with them. They just keep giving dates and keep postponing them with no reason or rhyme. Even though there are orders from the National Green Tribu nal (NGT) and the Supreme Court of India, the GCZMA overlooks and still keeps giving permissions where they should not,” alleged Alvares. “I have a case that has been going on for the last six months and they keep postponing it because the person I have complained about is a man in authority. It is a body that does not have a spine,” concluded Alvares.
