PANJIM: The Special Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) to restore Baina Beach to its original state within the next three months.
Besides asking the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to oversee the restoration, the Tribunal said that if the GTDC fails to remove the CRZ violations on the beach within the stipulated three-month period, the GCZMA will then undertake restoration and take coercive measures as per law, including assessment and recovery of compensation for the violations.
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The petitioners, Rajabhau Pawar and NGO Goa Foundation had in August 2016 complained against illegal constructions on the Baina beach in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification 2011. The applicants had complained against the illegal construction activity being undertaken in the name of beautification of the beach in Mormugao taluka and had claimed that the area was classified as a sandy beach and inter-tidal zone, categorized as CRZ-1.
The complainants had also stated that the GCZMA had illegally granted permission for construction on February 20, 2014, due to which sand dunes on Baina Beach are being flattened. Further, the constructions were carried out at the expense of the public exchequer, the NGT said.
