MARGAO: The National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) Western Zone Bench in Pune has directed the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to conduct a fresh hearing on construction activities at a Colva resort. This decision follows an appeal by the Colva Civic & Consumer Forum (CCF) challenging the partial discharge of a show-cause notice issued to the resort by the GCZMA.
In 2018, the CCF filed a complaint with the GCZMA alleging unauthorised renovation within the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) by the resort. Inspections revealed violations, including unauthorised ground+2 structures in the CRZ-III area and the lack of necessary CRZ approvals.
In response, the GCZMA issued a show-cause notice in 2019 but partially discharged it in December 2022, stating that five cottages, a restaurant, a sewage treatment plant, a generator shed, and a swimming pool were in accordance with the approved plan. The CCF contested this decision before the NGT.
During the NGT hearings, the CCF argued that the resort undertook construction activities after acquiring the property in 2017 without the necessary GCZMA approvals. Satellite imagery from 2010 to 2020 showed changes in the property, raising concerns about additional unauthorised constructions, such as a basement below the swimming pool, lack of sloping roofs and an extra temporary floor added to the cottages. The GCZMA defended its order by presenting permissions granted to the previous owner between 1987 and 2001 for the cottages, restaurant, and swimming pool, claiming that these structures were pre-approved.
The NGT noted that the GCZMA failed to verify whether the constructions adhered to the approved plans and did not consider whether the current owner obtained necessary approvals post-2017. While some structures appeared to be pre-approved, there was no clear evidence of permissions for renovations or reconstructions by the present owner.
In its judgment, the NGT instructed the GCZMA to conduct a fresh site inspection and re-hear the matter within two months.
The resort owner maintains that all required approvals are in place and plans to contest the matter before the GCZMA.
