Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: In a fresh order, a division bench of the Bombay High Court shut down a newly opened resort called Amari by Sea at Calangute for operating without fire brigade or pollution control consent orders.
The division bench comprising Justices Sonak and Valmiki Menezes passed the order after the Goa Foundation presented a PIL challenging the construction and operation of the resort without town planning permissions and panchayat construction licence.
It appears that the GCZMA granted NOC for erecting temporary huts in the largely 200 metre No Development Zone to Amari. Based on this NOC, a trade licence was issued by the Panchayat to erect the temporary huts and conduct hotel business.
Though the requirement was that the constructions should be of temporary material, the entire resort was raised on permanent foundations including a swimming pool. Though all structures were required to be only ground floor, Amari had erected a restaurant with a forest floor as well.
During hearings it emerged that Amari had neither NOC from the Fire Brigade although all its constructions were allegedly of wood, and neither was there any consent order from the Pollution Control Board.
The High Court directed the closure of the resort within 24 hours, and placed the matter on board for consideration of interim relief on 29 March, 2023.
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