Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa Foundation, the petitioner in the High Court against illegal constructions by Hotel Marriott, has urged Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar not to hold the official function in honour of retiring Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Justice Mohit Shah at the starred hotel, which is under
litigation.
“Since the division Bench of the High Court had come to an unequivocal finding that the permissions granted for the hotel’s constructions by the Goa government were in violation of the CRZ notification, it is highly inappropriate and improper of the same government to host any official function of the government in the Marriott premises,” Goa Foundation director Dr Claude Alvares said.
Stating that the writ petition filed by him was finally heard after a gap of 22 years and allowed in the year 2015 by a division Bench, Alvares said, “Since the matter is pending before the Bombay High Court, it would also be embarrassing for the High Court and its judges as well.”
He pointed out that for the past two decades, the Bombay High Court never held functions at the Goa Marriott due to the written objections of the Goa Foundation lodged with the then Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. The foundation then had a pending writ petition challenging the construction of the Goa Marriott on the grounds that its construction permissions violated the CRZ
notification.
“In view of the above, please shift the proposed official function to some other venue. If that is not possible, it would be advisable not to hold the function at all,” Goa Foundation demanded.
In June the High Court passed an order stating that the builders of Hotel Marriott has violated CRZ rules and had directed North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) to check for illegal construction on the river side of hotel and ‘restore the area’.
