PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Monday adjourned to Tuesday the hearing of the writ petition filed by former CCP councillor Patricia Pinto and 11 others challenging the decision of the Director of Tourism to hold the Goa Seafood Festival on the Miramar Beach from February 9 to 11, despite the government’s policy decision to ban food festivals on all the beaches of the State.
During the hearing, the court allowed miscellaneous civil application filed by Amo Communications Pvt Ltd through its accounts manager Vinod Shinde and admitted him as the intervenor.
The court also issued notice to one of the respondents i.e. Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP). The petitioners have stated that the decision of the Director of Tourism to go ahead with organising of the Goa Seafood Festival on Miramar Beach was in violation of the High Court orders dated February 14, 2001 and December 14, 2004.
The petitioners, all residents of Panjim and surrounding areas have claimed that they are concerned about the cleanliness of the Miramar Beach generally used by residents and their children as well as visitors to the State.
The petitioners stated that during monitoring of the “Kiddies” festival held in 1999 showed large scale degradation of the beach, as food remains, glass pieces etc. were strewn all over the sands, the petitioners had challenged the holding of the annual food festivals on the beaches of Goa because they cause extreme degradation to the beach from the discharge of large amounts of raw food waste, ash/cinders, broken glass from liquor sales and human defecation.
While hearing the petition, the then Director of Tourism Ulhas Kamat filed an affidavit dated April 8, 1999 which stated that the government had taken a policy decision not to allow any food festivals to be organised anywhere on the beaches nor to permit any other activities which tend to make them dirty or create unclean and unhygienic atmosphere, a blanket ban in this regard has been decided to be imposed.
Thereafter, the Director of Tourism set out a scheme in its various affidavits for maintaining cleanliness of beaches. Again another affidavit was filed by the then Director of Tourism S S Keshkamat dated February 23, 2000 before the Court which stated, “I say that as regards the holding of the festivals, the government has taken a policy decision not to allow any food festival to be organised anywhere on the beaches nor to permit any other activities which tend to make them dirty or create unclean and unhygienic atmosphere. A blanket ban in this regard has been decided to be imposed”.
While disposing of the petition by an order dated February 14, 2001, the Court had taken note of the government’s policy decision and the scheme.