PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has restrained Anjuna-Caisua Sarpanch Laxmidas Chimulkar and panchayat member Sheetal Naik from participating in the panchayat meetings until further orders.
The sarpanch has been asked to hand over the charge to the Deputy Sarpanch, who will function as the officiating sarpanch. The court took the action after it was brought to its notice that the duo had participated in the panchayat meeting and discharged show cause notices issued to their establishments.
During the previous hearing, the court had also asked the panchayat secretary to produce the minutes of the meeting. The court was hearing public interest litigation (PIL) suo motu in the matter of illegal constructions.
The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) had already sealed the business establishments prima facie belonging to Chimulkar and Naik for not obtaining consent to operate. The business establishment belonging to the panchayat member Naik was sealed on Monday.
The GSPCB has also filed a compliance report stating that during the inspection they found four establishments/hotels prima facie belonging to the sarpanch and one of the panchayat members operating without obtaining consent to operate from the Board. The Board also found that some of the structures were non-operational at the time of inspection and some of the structures had been dismantled and that they have been issued closure orders.