The Bombay High Court at Goa on Tues-day came down strongly against the alleged illegal construction of a concrete sea wall by a starred hotel at Bambolim beach, order-ing an immediate halt to the work amid serious vi-olations of coastal and con-struction norms.
The order was passed while hearing a public in-terest litigation (PIL) filed by activists Glean Cabral and Swapnesh Sherlekar along with the NGO Goa Foundation. The petition-ers informed the court that the wall was being erected without a valid construction licence and in blatant violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) regula-tions.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Taking note of the submis-sions, the High Court direct-ed the hotel management to stop the construction forth-with and strictly comply with the applicable laws.
The petitioners pointed out that the Curca-Bam-bolim-Talaulim village panchayat had not issued any construction licence for the project.
They submitted that the sarpanch had merely issued a no-objection certificate (NOC), which, they argued, was without legal authority and could not substitute a statu tory construction permission. On these grounds, the peti tioners sought an immediate stay on the work. Raising wider concerns, the PIL also sought a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged fabrication and forgery of the minutes of the 271st meeting of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) held in 2021. According to the petitioners, the issue of the Bam bolim project was never discussed during the meeting, yet it appeared in a separate set of minutes granting approv als to four casino-linked projects. These alleged “separate minutes,” they claimed, were never uploaded on the GCZ MA website. In its order, the High Court restrained the hotel manage ment from proceeding with the construction of the sea wall at the beach site and underscored the need for strict adher ence to environmental and construction norms. The court also issued a broader direction to all village panchayats across the State to follow the prescribed procedure and format while issuing construction licences. It was further noted that following a complaint lodged in May last year, the GCZMA had already issued a stop-work order and directed the hotel management to submit de tailed plans for the proposed retaining wall at Bambolim beach. The complainants have strongly objected to the use of cement and heavy earth-moving machinery for the con struction of the wall, as well as for clearing debris that had fallen onto the beach, arguing that such activities cause ir reversible damage to the fragile coastal ecosystem.
