HC orders demolition of 38 illegal structures at Anjuna

The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Monday ordered demolition of 38 structures built in No Development Zone (NDZ) at Anjuna, within the next week.

The court also directed the present panchayat secretary and the former panchayat secretary of Anjuna-Caisua Village Panchayat to remain present during the next hearing on January 31 for submitting a wrong affidavit and trying to misguide the court on demolition of illegal structure. The Director of Panchayats has also been asked to remain present during the next hearing and to specify as to what action will be taken against the erring Panchayat Secretary.The demolitions are to be undertaken by the Bardez Deputy Collector. The Court has further ordered the Anjuna-Caisua sarpanch, panchayat secretary, Town and officials of Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department, Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) and the Bardez Deputy Collector to submit an action report within a week regarding the illegal constructions on the Anjuna coast through an affidavit.During the hearing, amicus curiae Adv Abhijit Gosavi pointed out to the Court that the panchayat secretary had submitted a misleading affidavit in the High Court claiming that 16 illegal structures were demolished. Adv Gosavi produced evidence before the Court that these structures were not demolished and that they were used for commercial activities.The Anjuna-Caisua Village Panchayat in its two affidavits dated March 27, 2023 and April 6, 2023 had stated that demolition orders of 38 structures had attained finality and that the panchayat had also requisitioned the demolition squad. After the second affidavit, the court had directed the panchayat to ensure execution of demolition orders at the earliest. But demolition orders had till date neither been executed nor the village panchayat had filed any compliance report in this regard till date.Adv Gosavi told the court that the satellite images show that the structures still exist and the latest photographs prima facie depicted that these structures were commercially operational.Taking cognisance of this, the Court ordered present secretary Jitendra Naik and former secretary Dharmendra Govekar to file an affidavit before it by January 31. The Court has also asked the Director of Panchayats to remain present in the Court on January 31 and specify as to what action will be taken against the erring panchayat secretary.