Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed the Additional Director of Panchayats-I to decide within four weeks the appeal filed by late Shalini Madkaikar challenging the demolition order passed against 12 “illegal structures” situated within 300 metres from the centrally protected monument Basilica of Bom Jesus Church at Old Goa.
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The Se Old Goa Village Panchayat by an Order dated April 24, 2023 had ordered demolition of these structures as they were built without obtaining permission from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), construction licence from the village panchayat or technical clearance from the TCP Department. The panchayat had noted in its demolition order that all the structures were new structures and there were no documents that had permitted construction of these structures.
But within 15 days, Madkaikar obtained an ex-parte ad-interim stay of demolition order at the first hearing from the Director of Panchayats in an appeal and as there was no hearing for almost a year, Vasco Seby Dias approached the High Court seeking directions to the authorities to demolish the 12 illegal structures at Old Goa and to disconnect electricity and water connections to them.
Dias had stated that after the death of Shalini Madkaikar, her legal representatives on record took benefit of the interim relief granted by the Director of Panchayats in May 2023 and were carrying out commercial activities such as restaurant, general store, chicken shop, mutton shop, garage, hair cutting saloon, garment shop and a wine shop. According to him, these illegal structures were posing a threat to the smooth conduct of the traffic as they were located at the slip road of the flyover which was frequently causing traffic jams. The Se Old Goa village panchayat has also confirmed that these structures are used for commercial operations even without a trade licence.
However in November 2024, the Tiswadi Mamlatdar in his report stressed the need to remove these structures as it would cause traffic bottleneck during the St Francis Xavier Exposition. North Goa Collector Sneha Gitte, IAS wrote to both, the Additional Director of Panchayats-I and the Director of Panchayats, Panjim to decide on the appeal expeditiously as the Demolition order could not be executed due to ex-parte stay.
Following this, Vasco Dais filed a Miscellaneous Civil Application before the High Court seeking an order to seal the 12 illegal structures. While deciding the application, the Court stated that there no reasons why the appeal before the Additional Director of Panchayat should not be heard on merits and directed to decide the appeal expeditiously and within a period of
four weeks.
