PANJIM: The Vainguinim Valley Residents’ Association has welcomed the order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which has ruled that concrete constructions and walls be not permitted near the coastline.
The NGT judgment has come as a big relief to the Vainguinim Valley Residents’ Association, that has been fighting against the wall constructed on the beach at Vainguinim-Dona Paula by a hotelier. The Association said that the NGT order would have ramifications on the wall built by a hotelier at Vainguinim.
Vainguinim Valley Residents’ Association president Collin Curry said, “The wall built on the beach is creating problems for the shoreline and also eroding it. We have experienced it at Vainguinim beach. Vainguinim Valley Residents’ Association had taken up this matter seriously and we are now looking forward to moving the NGT after we tried all resources through lower courts as well as High Court here. So we are moving this matter to NGT and we are going to make sure that this wall is demolished.”
He added, “I am sure that NGT will understand the kind of problems we are going to face in future and make sure that this wall is demolished.”
Local resident and activist Akash Madgaonkar said, “The NGT order is very crucial because it’s now almost a year (May 23) since the wall has come up at Vainguinim beach. So we hope that the NGT order prevents any future walls and at the same time the State machinery does their work to make sure that the current walls that are there the erosion impact is studied and after that it is demolished and the beach is restored using natural elements as discussed in the NGT order.”
Adv Pundaliak Raikar of Taleigao said, “It is very good order. It’s a welcome order. The protection of coastline and water bodies has to be the natural way. The wall built by a hotelier at Vainguinim is absolutely against nature and everybody is aware of it that the hotel management has used their might at various levels of administration to get their work done. The wall has been built by absolutely violating all the norms of the land. The NGT order is a right step in the right direction and I hope that the GCZMA and State administration will direct the hotel management to remove the wall and do it which is conducive to the environment.”
