PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Wednesday vacated its interim order restraining the Cana-Benaulim Village Panchayat from issuing fresh construction licences as it had its permanent
Material Recovery Facility (MRF) for garbage management operational.
The Court also granted some relief to Bhati Village Panchayat in Sanguem taluka for making temporary arrangements for garbage management and kept in abeyance the contempt notice to the panchayat.
In July last year, the High Court by way of last chance had directed the Bhati Village Panchayat to set up a permanent MRF facility within next six months, which ended in January this year. But the panchayat neither constructed MRF nor bothered to seek any extension of time from the Court. The Court had also forfeited the amount deposited by the panchayat members for failing to put up MRF in the village within six months and had further issued show cause notices to the sarpanch and the panchayat secretary as to why action under the Contempt of Court Act be not initiated against them for breaching the directions issued by the Court.
In January 2022, the High Court had directed the Cana-Benaulim Village Panchayat and eight other Village Panchayats to pay a fine of Rs 5,000 each for failing to comply with the directions of setting up of MRF and composting facility in their respective villages.
