PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Wednesday directed the Arambol village panchayat and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to seal a commercial establishment only if it has no trade licence or consent to operate.
Gaurav Naik has filed a writ petition complaining about a huge illegal and unauthorised construction built by one Antonio alias Felix D’Souza. The village panchayat also placed on record photographs of the structure, which was being used for commercial purposes.
Following a show cause notice, the panchayat has issued a demolition order dated May 5, 2021 to D’Souza. But the respondent appealed against the demolition order before the Additional Director of Panchayats, Panjim, who on June 1, 2021 granted a blanket stay on the demolition order. But the Court observed that there were no reasons why a blanket stay was granted based upon which D’Souza was doing commercial activities through a structure, which was prima facie illegal and unauthorised. The panchayat was also unable to say whether it had granted trade licence to D’Souza.
However, from the photographs the Court concluded that D’Souza was operating a commercial establishment from the structure, against which a demolition order was issued. Accordingly, the court directed the Arambol panchayat secretary and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) officials to visit this commercial establishment by Thursday and to check whether the respondent had obtained trade licence and consent to operate.
If there is no trade licence or consent to operate, then the panchayat secretary and the GSPCB officials must, by Thursday seal the premises and stop the commercial activities. The Court has also asked the Additional Director of Panchayats to indicate the timeline wherein the appeal filed by D’Souza would be disposed off and posted the matter for April 19.
