Team Herald
PANJIM: Rebuking the government for not taking cognizance of illegal bore wells and soak pits mushrooming along the Calangute and Candolim beach stretch, the High Court of Bombay at Goa on Wednesday asked government authorities to immediately seal them, and take necessary steps to ensure that these bore wells are not used.
The Court asked the Department of Tourism, Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), Water Resources Department (WRD) and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to carry out a joint inspection and submit a report in this regard on February 21, without giving any excuses. The respondents have been asked to produce photographs on record along with the compliance report.
Referring to illegal bore wells and soak pits on beaches as major environmental hazards in CRZ areas, the Court asked the GCZMA to issue show-cause notices to all shack operators who have built illegal bore wells and soak pits by February 17. The Court said that these operators will be given a week’s time to file their reply and to dispose them by February 20, while giving them an opportunity to remedy the prima facie default on their part within this period, if they choose to.
Petitioner Reuben Franco of Umtawado, Calangute, in his public interest litigation (PIL) writ petition had flagged several issues concerning the illegalities on Calangute and Candolim beaches. Arguing on behalf of the petitioner, Adv Rohit Bras De Sa urged the Court to direct the authorities to remove all entrenched septic tanks, soak pits, garbage bags and bore wells sunk on the Calangute and Candolim beach belt and to hold inquiries against errant officials of the Department of Tourism and GCZMA, who had allowed entrenched septic tanks, bore wells and buried garbage dumps on these beaches since 2019 and to take immediate steps to decongest all the beaches, i.e. Calangute beach.
Adv De Sa also prayed that the government be directed to restrict the number of shacks at the main entry points of both the beaches.
The Department of Tourism submitted a preliminary report concerning the Candolim and Calangute beach stretches. The report concerning the Candolim stretch revealed that as many as 23 bore wells were illegally dug and installed mainly around shacks permitted by the Department. These shacks were extracting and utilising water from these bore wells.
Additional Government Advocate Sulekha Kamat told the Court that such bore wells are not permitted in terms of the shack policy. She further affirmed that no permissions were granted for boring such wells under the Goa Ground Water Regulation Act, 2002 and Rules 2003. From the report, the Court found that 17 shacks at Candolim beach had constructed soak pits amounting to breach of terms and conditions of the shack licence.
Adv Kamat said that the department will issue show cause notices to the 17 shack operators asking them as to why their operations should not be shut down and licences should not be revoked for prima facie breach.
On the Calangute beach stretch, the report gave the status of only 19 shacks out of 108, even as the Court was disappointed at the delay in the inspection. The Court directed the authorities to complete the inspection latest by February 15.
The Court also told the respondents that as per section 14 of Goa Ground Water Regulation Act, 2002 and Rules 2003, the ground water officers have powers regarding the closure of the wells and seizure of materials and equipment. The ground water officer is empowered to act not only when there is a complaint but also when contravention of the provisions of the Act is noticed by him, even otherwise. The authorities under this Act are not taking any serious steps to enforce the provisions of the Act.
