Conduct of Goa Coastal zone management authority under suspicion: NGT
Conduct of Goa Coastal zone management authority under suspicion: NGT
The NGT said that the GCZMA had no business in carrying out a review of the demolition orders after they were confirmed by the Supreme Court.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has stated that the conduct of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMNA) is under suspicion as the body failed to carry out demolition of illegal constrictions by a Colva Hotel despite the Supreme Court's orders.
"After the final order by the Supreme Court, in our opinion, there was no question of any review application to be entertained by any of the forums, except the Supreme Court, from where the said demolition had been upheld. But record reveals that by taking recourse to legal proceedings on the pretext of the ground of procedural review available to the GCZMA, the said authority entertained the application for review and kept the matter pending for long," said the tribunal.
In pursuant to the review application in the case of illegal structures by the Colva hotel, it was found that till this time, despite SC orders, the hotel owner "continued to enjoy the benefits of the property" from the date of the SC judgement on January 18, 2019, till October 23, 2021.
The NGT said that even after the review proceedings were dismissed, the demolition appears to have not been carried out.
"The conduct of the administrative authorities involved in this, as well as that of the GCZMA, is under cloud of suspicion as their conduct is not above board. It is very much clear that once the matter was settled by the Apex Court, no further proceedings, in the garb of review, should have been allowed to go ahead and it should have been rejected outright as the sole power of entertaining any review vested with the Supreme Court," said the tribunal.
The appeal against the GCZMA for not carrying out the demolitions was filed by the Colva civic and consumer forum.
"We allow this application and direct the GCZMA to ensure the compliance of demolition order dated December 5, 2018, in respect of the property in question within a period of two months positively, failing which the applicant would be at liberty to approach us, indicating non-compliance, where-on the penal order may have to be passed by us," said the tribunal.
It also said that it is deemed proper to direct the Goa chief secretary to look into the conduct of the concerned officers of the GCZMA "who were involved in carrying out the demolition order". The Chief Secretary has been asked by the Tribunal to hold enquiry as to who is at fault in executing the demolition order. NGT has said that "appropriate penal action both administrative as well as judicial" should be taken and a report submitted to the tribunal within three months.
