PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Friday directed the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to go ahead with demolition of illegal structures built within the mangrove area and within the 50-metre mangrove buffer under the CRZ Notification 2011, at Merces.
The Division Bench comprising Justice Mahesh Sonak and Justice Valmiki SA Menezes also rejected the two petitioners appeal for interim relief to approach the Supreme Court after it was observed that they were blatantly flouting the law and using the illegal construction for commercial purpose causing damage to the environment and mangroves.
The two petitioners Johnny Fernandes and Shaine Fernandes from Vaddy-Merces had filed a writ petition praying to stay the demolition order Issued by the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) in August last year, alleging that the GCZMA had deliberately and intentionally concealed certain facts alleged in the petition and without disclosing such facts, which the petitioners claimed to be in their favour, passed the demolition order.
The appeal filed by the petitioners before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) was dismissed in September last year while, the Supreme Court too dismissed a civil appeal in November last year, thereby holding the upholding the directions of the GCZMA.
The Court said, “A perusal of the aerial photographs conjointly with the plan would leave no doubt in our minds that the property in question clearly falls within the mangrove area and the setback designated from the mangrove along the periphery of the property. The respondent GCZMA had made this observation in its order dated March 7, 2022, which attained finality before the Supreme Court of India when the civil appeal at the behest of the petitioners was dismissed on November 7, 2022.”
