Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: After marathon hearings spread over two days and lasting nearly three-and-a-half hours, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has partially reviewed its earlier demolition directions, allowing the review application filed by Carrick Bend Realty LLP while dismissing a similar plea moved by Ajay Kumar Vaghani.
In a detailed seven-page order issued late at night, the GCZMA ruled that Carrick Bend Realty LLP must be granted an opportunity of hearing, as no show-cause notice had been issued prior to the demolition directions passed on October 7, 2025. The authority held that the absence of such notice amounted to a procedural lapse, warranting reconsideration of the matter.
Accordingly, the GCZMA permitted Carrick Bend Realty LLP to pursue its review application and directed that a formal show-cause notice be issued based on the site inspection report dated June 13, 2024. The firm has been asked to file a comprehensive reply addressing all alleged violations within one week. It has also been directed to serve copies of its reply on all complainants ahead of the next hearing scheduled for January 8, 2026.
At the same time, the authority made it clear that the reopening of the matter did not amount to a clean slate, noting that the review was being allowed strictly on procedural grounds.
In sharp contrast, the GCZMA rejected the review application filed by Ajay Kumar Vaghani, observing that the demolition directions issued against him followed due legal process and left no scope for reconsideration.
The authority noted that a show-cause notice had been issued to Vaghani as early as June 14, 2023, following which proceedings were initiated and multiple personal hearings were granted. Despite Vaghani’s claim that the offending structures had been demolished, the GCZMA observed that compliance was never confirmed by the authority.
Referring to the inspection report dated June 13, 2024, the GCZMA recorded that the violations were still found on site and had not been fully removed. The authority further pointed out that a personal hearing notice dated April 25, 2025 had also been served on Vaghani, and the proceedings ultimately culminated in the demolition directions approved during the 464th meeting of the GCZMA and communicated through the October 7, 2025 order under Section 5.
“The decision was taken after following the due procedure and therefore no case is made out for reviewing the application filed by Ajay Kumar Vaghani,” the authority concluded.
Addressing Carrick Bend Realty LLP’s contention that notices were never received, the GCZMA observed that the applicant had failed to formally inform the authority about any change of address. The order noted that the Porvorim address had been mentioned in the review application itself, indicating a lapse on the part of the applicant rather than the authority.
The twin rulings have once again placed the spotlight on procedural compliance in coastal regulation enforcement, even as demolition proceedings remain firmly in place against violators where due process has been established.
