Goa CRZ violations : Coastal Panchayats to file affidavits

The division bench of the Bombay high court at Goa, while hearing a suo moto petition  with regard to the illegal construction in the CRZ areas of Goa, has asked the coastal village panchayats to file affidavits by providing the details of the type of constructions, the survey numbers and what use these structures are being put to.

During the hearing of the petition, amicus curiae Norma Alvares brought it to the notice of the High Court that most of the panchayats in Goa may have issued demolition orders to illegal structures violating CRZ, but none have actually carried out any demolitions. She also pointed out that some of the panchayats are still at the stage of issuing show cause notices.

The court has sought the affidavits to be filed by October 5th 2009, stating therein the total number of structures in the 200 metres zone as per the survey maps. The court has also asked to state the number of structures found to be existing as on February 19 1991. The matter is expected to come up for hearing on October 13 2009. The bench also asked the state advocate general Adv Subodh kantak to give information about the number of appeals pending before the panchayat director regarding the illegal structures violating the CRZ.

Some of the village panchayats informed that they have filed their affidavits while others said that while the affidavits were ready, they were not yet filed. Ms Alvares submitted a chart which specified the details of the affidavits filed by the panchayats in various villages of Goa.

As per the details, Calangute and Canacona were on top of the charts aggregating 684 structures in Calangute and over 616 structures in Canacona. However, strangely, Calangute panchayat has issued notices only to around 90 such structures while Canacona has issued notices to only around 48 structures.

Comparatively, Anjuna panchayat has issued notices to over 227 structures out of a total of 427 such constructions in the No development Zone (NDZ). Mandrem Panchayat in the north and Agonda in the south of Goa have issued notices to 61 and 30 structures respectively.

Goan coastline to be inspected for CRZ violations by Union Minister

The CRZ issue which has embroiled Goa for the past few months with the High Court issuing orders to demolish the structures which are illegal, is expected to get a fresh look from none other than the Union Minister for Environment himself. The Minister Mr Jairam Ramesh is expected to lead a delegation to Goa next week to check for himself the status of over 7000 structures standing on the Goan coastline besides over 2,272 houses existing along various rivers in Goa which face the axe of demolition.

The above information was given by the Chief Minister Mr Digambar Kamat while replying to a question posed to him by the Mapusa MLA Mr Francis D'Souza who wanted to know what steps the government was taking to protect coastal residents of Goan origin to save their structures from demolition due to the CRZ issue.

The Chief Minister also assured the house that all those who produce valid documents to prove the existence of their houses prior to 1991 would be immediately deleted from the demolition list. Toddy tappers and traditional fishermen of Goa are also sought to be protected from demolition to their structures by the government by exempting them from the list.

The Chief Minister also informed the house about the central governments assurance that the Coastal management Zone notification would be allowed to lapse as he said the same was not required by the state of Goa due to various fears expressed by the Goan fishing community.

Goa's CRZ violators served with demolition notices

Acting on the instructions of the High court, many of the coastal village panchayats and municipal Councils in Goa have issued demolition notices after due identification and verification of  illegal structures in the Coastal regulation zone.Accordingly over 25 village panchayats are known to have  informed the court on Monday about the action taken by them to carry out the verification process.

A total of over 432 show cause notices are believed to be issued to various parties with structures in the 200 metre zone from the high tide line. After due hearing of the parties in question, over 42 structures are lined up for demolition. In addition over 6189 notices have been issued to parties having structures within 500 metres of the high tide line.

While in Canacona in the  south, the Palolem beach, a hot tourist spot in Goa, has over 42 structures identified by the Canacona Municipal Council as illegal and has issued demolition orders accordingly. In Calangute, show cause notices have been served to 91 structures within 200 metres of the high tide line (HTL) and found to be illegal after verification.

In Cavelossim, the panchayat has issued demolition notices to over 15 structures after identifying the structures  within 200 metres of the high tide line.

Goa NGO's coming together could alter equations

A charter of demands is awaiting to greet Goa's Lok sabha candidates, thanks to a grandiose coalition of some nine NGO's in Goa who have come together under one banner although some of their ideologies may be contrastingly different , to ensure that the Goan electorate is not taken for granted.

Although the move may be a genuine apolitical venture, the resolve of these NGOs is bound to give some candidates aspiring to get elected, some sleepless nights. The NGOs coming together under the banner of " Nirashi Goencarancho avaz" ( voice of disappointed Goans) have decided not to support any of the national parties while expressing their disgust over their continued failure to resolve the issues specific to the state of Goa.

The nine NGOs who have come under the common banner are

• Utt Goenkara
• Goenchea Ramponkarancho ekvott
• Niz Ramponkarancho ekvott
• United Goans welfare front
• Majorda social welfare forum
• Villagers of Colva , Sernabatim, Vanelim and Gandaulim
• Federation of association of tour taxi owners and drivers
• Goa's movement against SEZ
• Film makers

The new banner organisation has felt that the national parties do not serve Goa's cause and have betrayed the electorate of Goa. These parties need to run to their high command for each and every issue with respect to the state and cannot be relied upon. The association has decided to present a memorandum of their demands to all the candidates and have resolved to support the candidate who will accept their demands.

Some of the major demands of the association are as follows

1. Enforcing a ban on mega projects in the entire state of Goa
2. Scrapping of the amendment to the Goa Panchayati raj act
3. Enforcement of rules of heritage and its implementation
4. Devolution of powers to local self governing bodies as envisaged in the 73rd and 74th amendment to the constitution of India.
5. regularisation of houses located within 500 metres of the HTL in CRZ areas.
6. According special status to Goa
7. Tourism industry employees to be employed under the minimum wage regulations
8. Withdrawal of the 16 and 16A amendments to the TCP act
9. denotification of the 3 SEZs
10. No new mining leases to be issued and lapsed mining leases to be cancelled.

Will this new association be able to influence the electorate and change political equations in Goa?  Surely, the candidates must be already feeling the heat.

GRE issues deadline to Goa govt over CRZ threat

The Goa CRZ issue is definitely one of the topmost issues likely to dominate the pre-poll scenario in Goa. This was evident when the Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE) along with other like minded  coastal organisations served the government with a warning to regularise their houses and establishments existing between 200 metres of the high tide line by the 10th of April for such structures built before their specified date of December 31 2007.

The Chief Minister of Goa Mr Digambar kamat was met by a delegation led by the GRE president Mr Agnelo Rodrigues and general secretary Mr Mathany Saldanha at his residence in the city and urged him to fulfill their demand.

An estimated 8,500 structures await the axe as per the High court directives and needed to be protected according to the petitioners. The Chief Minister expressed his concern on the matter while explaining the options available before the government of Goa and informed that the government has appointed a committee to study the matter.

While the CM pointed out to the role of the panchayats in solving the issue,the panchayats on their part have maintained that in the face of the high court orders they are completely helpless in the current imbroglio.

The delegation urged the government to appeal to the centre to amend the CRZ act to ensure that their homes and establishments are saved. They also demanded that special status be granted to Goa under Article 371 of the constitution of India to prevent the sale of coastal land to foreigners and others who buy land rampantly in Goa.

Supreme Court orders Goa govt to halt fresh construction at Cidade.

Even while the state assembly in Goa was busy passing the bill  to regularise the ordinance aimed at saving a portion of  Cidade de Goa’s construction, the Supreme Court in an order yesterday, ruled that until it issues further orders, the structure should not be regularised nor should any fresh construction be permitted in hotel Cidade de Goa.

While slamming the Digambar Kamat government in Goa, for trying to nullify its judgement through the promulgation of an ordinance, with the motive of saving a portion of the Cidade de Goa from being demolished, the three judge bench comprising Justices B N Agrawal, G S  Singhvi and H L Dattu made its displeasure clear over the ordinance which negated the judgement of the apex court.

In an interim direction, the supreme court said until further orders, the construction should not be regularised. The order therefore means a fresh demolition threat now hangs over the controversy ridden portion of the hotel.

It may be recalled that the court had found enough reason to direct the demolition of the controversial portion of the Cidade de Goa and in January this year in response to a petition filed by the Goa foundation, had directed the demolition of the said portion within 3 months. However around a month after the judgement, the Goa government moved in swiftly to issue an ordinance to protect the hotel owner from the loss.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising appearing for the Goa foundation scathingly criticised the government of Goa for "throwing all norms to the wind in order to protect an offending building even at the cost of a judgement from the Supreme Court."

Social activists in Goa have been creating a mass awareness about the lack of morality on the part of the government in issuing the ordinance despite the direction of the apex court and have branded the move as unconstitutional . 

Legal experts have opined that this latest direction of the Supreme court could imply that the government would have to now petition the apex court if it desired to regularise the illegal construction. 

This therefore raises the question whether this whole episode would bring the state legislature and the apex court face to face in a battle of supremacy.

Goa CM assures solution to CRZ imbroglio

With the spectre of an agitation looming large just ahead of parliamentary elections in Goa, the Chief Minister Of Goa Mr Digambar Kamat announced a series of steps which his government plans to initiate in a bid to protect the thousands of houses within the Coastal regulation Zone(CRZ) in Goa, which are facing the axe following the directives of the high court in this regard.

The Chief Minister was addressing a press conference in the capital city of Panjim along with his cabinet colleagues  which included the Home Minister Mr Ravi Naik, Social Welfare Minister MR Ramakrishna Dhavlikar, Environment Minister Mr Aleixo Sequeira and Revenue Minister Mr Jose Phillip D'Souza.

Among the many initiatives suggested, the government was also considering consultations with noted constitutional experts like Mr Fali Nariman and Mr Shyam Diwan on how to protect the interests of people living along the coastline while exploring possibilities of amending local laws to provide them relief. The government was optimistic of its efforts producing the desired results before the high court meets up for the next hearing on the case which is scheduled for the 16th of June 2009.

Reminding citizens that the issue concerning the CRZ was a central government law applicable to the entire country, Mr Kamat hoped that the central government would amend the law to provide relief to the people and also remained open on the option of approaching the supreme court as a last resort to challenge any adverse judgement of the high court.

The Chief Minister also informed that the panchayats have been requested to take on record any document such as electricity bill, no objection certificates, water bills etc. issued by them for consideration in order to prove the existence of the houses before the cut off date of February 19, 1991.

CRZ - new war cry in Goa?

CRZ affected residents in coastal villages of Goa are bracing for a battle with the government, ahead of the axe which looms large on their heads in the face of high court directives to the panchayat bodies  to identify and demolish illegal structures within the coastal regulation zone.

Amidst allegations of fraud in the process of determining illegal structures, the residents of these areas have pledged to expose the pitfalls in the system in a bid to present their case strongly.

Alleging that the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority(GCZMA) nor the land survey department have proper records to establish the existence of the structures before February 19 1991, the villagers maintained that the government agencies were relying on unreliable data to determine the legality of structures within the CRZ.

On Tuesday, 17th march 2009, the public meeting held by the Goenchea Ramponkarancho ekvott (GRE) and other coastal organisations issued an ultimatum to the government of Goa to regularise all residential houses and work sheds built before December 31 2007 by 10th of April 2009. Presently structures within 200 metres from the high tide line face demolitions if erected after a cut off date of February 19, 1991.

Speaking at the meeting were the leader of the opposition Mr Manohar Parrikar who promised his party's support, MLA Vijai Pai Khot who lamented that only Goa was being singled out for such demolitions while neighboring states were being ignored and the  general secretary of the GRE Mr Mathanhy Saldanha who implored Goans to stand united on this issue by crossing religious and caste barriers. Others who also spoke on the occasion were  Mr Floriano Lobo, Mr Laxmikant Parsenkar, Mr Christopher Fonseca and MR Agnelo Rodrigues.

Critical mention was made to the promulgation of the ordinance to save a city hotel by the government of Goa while pointing out the governments inaction so far in saving the CRZ affected people.