PANJIM: The fresh decision of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to grant approvals to the hotel which constructed a concrete wall on Vainguinim beach, for a mini-deck, walkway and floating pontoons has left the Vainguinim Valley Residents Association (VVRA) disappointed.
The residents have not only raised concerns over the beach’s condition ever since the wall’s construction, but have also claimed that their earlier objections to the recently-approved proposals have been rejected too.
It may be recalled that the VVRA had filed a written objection in June, 2021.
“We are extremely disappointed and not surprised with the GCZMA decision as one of its experts has yet again granted the hotel the permission to reconstruct a mini-deck, walkway and install floating pontoon,” said VVRA.
The residents questioned as to how only one of the four GCZMA expert members agreed with the authority to drop the earlier show-cause notice issued to the hotel with regards to the wall’s construction.
“After constructing the wall which will lead to the destruction of the beach, it seems like the hotel wants to further spoil our local beach with more unnatural material which is not conducive to the environment. As usual, the GCZMA and other authorities who should prevent such damage in eco-sensitive zones are yet again turning a blind eye,” VVRA alleged.
It may be recalled that one of the GCZMA expert members had objected to authority’s decision and had asked that the plan and report prepared by North Goa Additional Collector be returned to him for resubmissions as it had omitted key details.
He opined that GCZMA’s permission for the wall’s construction had been violated.
“The resurvey plan shows the linear wall as ‘boulder wall. The earlier records show the linear wall as having a height of 30-40 cms. The authority has permitted repairs of the linear wall. However, from the report prepared by my colleagues, it is seen that the wall is a new work of cement concrete and has a height of about 1 metre. Lastly, permissions of other competition authorities have not been taken prior to commencement of work,” said the expert member.
