PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Tuesday directed the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) and the Anjuna-Caisua Village Panchayat to immediately demolish an illegal construction built right on the beach and to file compliance report to the court on Wednesday.
The High Court directives came while hearing a writ petition filed by Ramesh Muzumdar of Calangute. Arguing on behalf of the petitioner, Adv Ganesh Naik had complained that the illegal construction was going on right on the Anjuna Beach and in the No Development Zone (NDZ).
He also produced photographs indicating construction going on even at night.
During the last hearing, the Court had asked the Anjuna Police to forthwith stop the construction on the beach and to produce photographs showing the status of the constructions at the beach.
On Tuesday, the owner Augusta D’Souza told the court that she had given the property to a Delhi-based party, who paid her Rs five lakh and would further pay her Rs two lakh per month as rent. However, the court told D’Souza to deposit Rs five lakh in the court for causing damage to the environment. The representatives of Delhi party were also present in the court.
The division bench comprising Justice Mahesh Sonak and Justice B P Deshpande further directed the GCZMA and the Anjuna-Caisua village panchayat to hold a joint inspection of the entire Anjuna beach to identify constructions violating Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZ) norms and to file a report to the court.
