PANAJI
The National Green Tribunal has asked the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to draw up an inventory of all coastal structures in order to effectively monitor the situation along the coast proactively rather than having to act only on the basis of complaints.
Hearing an appeal filed by one Michael Fernandes of Betalbatim who had approached the NGT against an order of the GCZMA which ordered that he demolish the structures had put up along the coast in the form of Mickey’s Bar and Restaurant in survey 96/1 of Betalbatim village.
“The GCZMA appears to be working only on the basis of complaints against illegal structures and a large number of illegal structures continue to exist in spite of the directions of the High Court… It may be desirable to have an inventory prepared in respect of such structures based on an independent annual survey, to be updated periodically to avoid selective action against the violations of the CRZ,” the NGT bench said.
Member Secretary of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority Dasharath Redkar said that the NGT’s directions will be placed before the full body and a decision will be taken.
Presently the GCZMA operates mainly on the basis of complaints filed before it and there exists no known mechanism to monitor the developments along the coast to ensure that no structures come up in violation of the CRZ notification.
In the absence of such a mechanism only those structures against whom complaints have been filed are acted against leading to a selective application of the law.
