CRZ rules: Multiple Taleigao structures to be demolished

Panaji: The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has directed the demolition of multiple structures along the coastal area of Taleigao in three survey numbers.

The violator had carried out the constructions stating that he intended to set up a water sports institute.

The authority said that the arguments of the violator were ‘superfluous’.

The GCZMA, on receiving the complaint, inspected the site and found ‘several violations’.

“The respondent is only seeking to hoodwink by not placing on record substantial documents and wasting our time. Had he been clear, he would have clearly placed on record the plans,” the GCZMA said.

The company was permitted by the predecessor of GCZMA which was known as Goa State Committee for Coastal Environment (GSCCE), based on which construction on the property had been started.

The GCZMA said, “It gives us an impression that the respondent may have the plans duly approved by the competent authority but what exists on the ground may not be the same as what is on approval. Hence he is shying away from placing the same on record. Dilly-dallying cannot be the rule of the law”.

The director of the water sports company, which owns the property, had appeared before the GCZMA and told that he had purchased the properties in 1994.

“At the time when the property was purchased, govt was contemplating on attracting foreign tourists to promote adventure tourism, and in this backdrop, central and state govt purchased various water sports equipment and also invested in water sports infrastructure,” he told the GCZMA.