Team Herald
MARGAO: After a two-year-long delay, the South Goa demolition squad initiated action against illegal constructions along the Salcete coast that violate Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.
The ground plus one-storey building in Colva was demolished under the supervision of Executive Magistrate Prataprao Gaonkar. He stated that they were acting as per the orders from the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA).
Judith Almeida, secretary of the Colva Civic and Consumer Forum, which had lodged the initial complaint that led to the GCZMA’s demolition order in 2022, questioned the delay in carrying out the demolition even though there were no appeals against the demolition order.
Highlighting another pending case, Almeida pointed out, there was another case at Sernabatim, which was cleared by the Supreme Court for demolition, but the demolition squad was yet to execute the order.
She emphasised the need for clear timelines to ensure compliance even in the case where the party concerned may give an undertaking that they would raze down the structure by themselves.
Almeida urged the demolition squad to act swiftly on additional illegal structures along the Colva-Sernabatim coast, particularly those where appeals have been dismissed by higher courts, including the Supreme Court.
