Goa: Casinos' gamble works, 6 of 7 operate without green nod

PANAJI: Though the chips are down for ecology, offshore casinos on the Mandovi continue their commercial activities without the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance - 11 months after National Green Tribunal (NGT) made the clearance necessary.
In fact, of the seven casino operators, only one has submitted the necessary details sought by Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to process the CRZ clearance.

Last year in April, the green tribunal directed Deltin Caravela to stop operations on the Mandovi, as the group did not have the CRZ clearance. The tribunal had said that the activity cannot resume till the clearance is obtained.
In line with the NGT directives, the casinos must get the clearance to operate up to 12 nautical miles in the water.
But when the casino operators submitted their applications to GCZMA last year after the NGT ruling, the applications were found to be incomplete and without the necessary documents.
Subsequently, on September 30, 2022, GCZMA decided to ask the casino operators to submit all the details about their vessels. The authority also sought the no-objection certificates (NOCs) taken by the operators from other departments, in order to take the appropriate decision on the CRZ clearance.
Until GCZMA's meeting last month, only one casino had submitted the documents sought by the authority. "The authority had directed all the project proponents by its letter dated October 13, 2022, to submit the necessary documents to consider their proposal for NOCs," GCZMA noted in the meeting. "Despite the receipt of the aforesaid letter, only one project proponent i.e. Golden Peace Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (operating M V Majestic Pride) submitted some documents and asked for time to file an environment impact assessment report." GCZMA added, "Other project proponents have not submitted any documents."
GCZMA is yet to receive the documents from the owners of M V Lucky Seven (operated by World Wide Resorts and Entertainment); M V Caravela and M V Casino Royale (High Street Cruises and Entertainment); and M V Horseshoe Casino (Celta Co-op).
The authority had initially also received applications for the CRZ clearance from Golden Globe Hotels and Goa Coastal Resorts & Recreation, which too has not submitted all the documents.