MARGAO: In a move that provides relief to a party involved in a ten-year dispute over development on jointly-owned properties, the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) Western Zone Bench in Pune denied a request demanding the demolition of structures purportedly built in breach of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) standards in Paloalem.
The bench noted that the structures in question are located outside of the designated CRZ area.
The applicants in this case had previously claimed that no clearance was received from the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) and that the work was done inside the CRZ. The tribunal stated that the construction is to be governed by the rules set forth by the local Canacona Municipal Council (CMC) and that no approval from the GCZMA was necessary because the property is not located inside the CRZ region.
However, in a significant move, the GCZMA had to give an unconditional apology to the NGT for initially having provided information about the property’s location that was found to be ambiguous. While the NGT comprising Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and Dr Vijay Kulkarni, accepted this apology, it voiced its disapproval of the authority’s submissions through affidavits without properly verifying the facts.
