POSTMORTEM OF THE ANJUNA ILLEGALITIES: Smell of foul play in multiple cases

ANJUNA: A former sarpanch, father of two individuals undergoing trials in drug cases and two hotels are among the 89 individuals whose 175 structures have been ordered to be sealed by the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court on February 13, 2024. But if you ask the panchayat or see its efforts it is clear that it made every attempt to show that these structures were functioning within the ambit of law; a claim that the High Court has outrightly rejected.

And in this “Republic” of Anjuna, the democracy of illegality rules middlemen are operating, at times on Government land with high-end bars restaurants & nightclubs built on them; selling alcohol at five-star rates. Some of them, on paper, are “temporary” shacks with- what many activists allege – “easily purchasable” NOCs from authorities.

A document in possession of O Heraldo reveals how the Panchayat took immense pain to tabulate all the structures that were identified as illegal and attempted to justify why the illegal classification given to them was “in correct”. Using this justification, they passed resolutions to withdraw their show cause notice to these structures asking them to state why their structures should not be demolished. All of this has all been rejected by the High Court.

“NOCs” from the panchayat seem to be the most favourable “fig leaf” to justify continuing their business. The High Court has set aside each of 

these attempts.

Sixteen temporary shacks; several positions of W Resort; and an Alcoves property occupy a major portion of the list of structures that have been ordered to be sealed. W Resort is mentioned in 12 entries from serial 110 to 111 in the panchayat note. Seventy-five individuals have two or more structures that will be sealed and among them, the name of Keshav Shamba Palyekar stands out.

Former Anjuna-Caisua sarpanch Patrick Savio Almeida’s name appears in the Panchayat chart linked to structures (rooms and restaurant) on multiple survey numbers mentioned in the Panchayat chart of properties it was trying to protect.

In one of the survey numbers, (listed in serial number 81 in the panchayat sheet) Sy. No.222/7, the panchayat states that the structure is ‘wrongly identified’ in the name of Savio Almeida. Interestingly, in the previous entry, in serial number 80, survey number 222/5, the entry states Savio Almeida c/o Titlie/Vistamar. Here the panchayat does not state that the property is wrongly identified. 

Here it relies upon panchayat NOCs and trade licence copies to give it legal “protection”.

Keshav Shamba Palyekar, according to this report, has three structures to be sealed and one of them is on Survey No 597/1 & 597/1-A. However, Form I&IV of this plot, copy seen by this newspaper, indicates the name of the occupant as “Government of Goa, Goa Tourism Development Corporation Ltd.”

 “I have taken this matter to the NGT because the government has leased this land for ninety years to an outsider from Delhi who has on his part sub sub-leased it to others. This is a serious breach,” said petitioner Francis Drago.

 “Outsiders have used land in possession of the government for years and it is only after the intervention of the High Court that matters are put in order. I had complained about Romeo Lane years ago but nothing happened until the court intervened,” lamented Drago.

Blue Water, a well-dressed bar and restaurant in Anjuna which is listed as a “Temporary Shack” and therefore has no Survey No has been operating with a copy of the panchayat NOC bearing ref no VP/ANJ-CAI/2022-23/2657 and a license from Department of Tourism.

“Had the Tourism department been strict, the panchayat would not have been having a party,” rues Drago, who believes the courts are the only way out for locals.

According to the document, 67 structures need to be sealed in Anjuna and the rest in Vagator and the surrounding areas, including Ozran and small Vagator.

The 18 temporary shacks ordered to be sealed fail to meet the standards the Tourism Department sets in its Shack Policy. Ten of these shacks have residence of (r/o) address; two are with care of (c/o) addresses; three are labelled as belonging to the Tourism department; one just has the name of an individual and two are mentioned as “near Romeo Lane”.

“The government has leased land under CRZ to one Abhinav Sharma from New Delhi for ninety-nine years when it should have benefitted the locals. Those are solid structures and not shacks that are built,” retorts Drago.

“The report presented to the High Court by the Panchayat is not all right. A lot of details have been concealed,” stated a local on condition of anonymity.

Illegal structures are a low-hanging fruit across this belt. And these ‘fruit trees’ are protected by none other than the authorities whose job is to eradicate and uproot illegality.