PANJIM: Acting tough against Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) for allegedly submitting misleading information on the CRZ guidelines relating to the Grape Escapade 2017, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued show cause notices to all the authority members, including the Member Secretary.
Kashinath Shetye, who had moved the petition, has now moved a contempt application before NGT against GCZMA and Goa Tourism Development Corporation’s (GTDC) failure to abide by NGT’s order, that had asked GCZMA to ‘enforce the effect of revocation of the permission granted to the festival named in the permission – Grape Escapade 2017 – till it holds the meeting and takes appropriate decision in the matter’.
Shetye said that NGT – western Zone has issued show cause notices to all GCZMA members that through their counsel informed the Court that ‘no permission is required for organizing any festival under CRZ notification, 2011 in CRZ II area and therefore, there is no violation of undertaking given by GTDC’.
Despite NGT staying the four-day Wine Festival held from Arpil 27-30, GTDC went ahead with the event and GCZMA failed to take any action.
GCZMA on April 19, had issued a NOC for the event subject to the condition that ‘no permanent structures be erected at site and there shall not be any violation of the CRZ notification 2011 and the Noise Rule 2000.’ However, the permission was withdrawn the same day citing no reason.
In the contempt petition, which will come up for hearing on May 15, Shetye has pointed out that GTDC had assured the tribunal in an affidavit, in response to a similar complaint against the wine festival in 2015, that no festival would be held without GCZMA’s permission.
