PANAJI: After the high court issued strictures, authorities began the process of sealing 51 establishments at Girkarwada, Arambol, on Friday. Ten establishments were sealed on Friday with the team aiming to complete the sealing of all the 51 illegal structures by Tuesday.
“We sealed ten establishments including shacks, rented rooms, restaurants, and other structures,” an official said. “We will complete sealing the rest of the structures by Tuesday as it is a tedious process that requires time.”
Expressing shock over the “level of illegal constructions put up in a no-development zone without obtaining permissions from any authorities”, the high court last month directed the coastal authority, the deputy collector, the pollution control board, and the panchayat to immediately seal the structures.
The court noted that commercial activities are being undertaken in the structures. Illegal structures used for purely residential purposes were not to be sealed.
A joint inspection report showed the “magnitude of the destruction of this no-development zone and its exploitation for commercial purposes,” the court said.
The secretary of the village panchayat of Arambol submitted to the court the details of site inspections of 61 structures at Girkarwada, Arambol, and Pernem which were put up without any construction licences.
Advocate general Devidas Pangam also placed on record a detailed joint inspection report, submitting that all these constructions were put up without permissions.
As for the sealing team, it comprises officials of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority and the Goa Pollution Control Board, and the deputy collector, the mamlatdar, and panchayat officials, and police.
