Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: In an order that has triggered sharp debate over the future of coastal protection in Goa, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has rejected a complaint alleging illegal construction within a No Development Zone (NDZ) in Aldona, effectively allowing a bungalow associated with former chief secretary Puneet Goel to remain untouched.
The decision, issued in October, arose from a complaint filed by politician Trajano D’Mello, who had accused the owners of a property bearing survey number 36/1 in Aldona village of violating Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms. Following the complaint, a GCZMA inspection team — comprising an Expert Member, an Environmental Assistant and a field surveyor — visited the site on May 19, 2025.
Rather than examining the legality of the construction itself, the Authority focused on the physical characteristics of the land. The inspection report noted the presence of bunds along two sides of the plot and sluice gates located on either side of the property. Based on these features, the GCZMA concluded that its jurisdiction under CRZ regulations terminates at the sluice gates.
Citing the Goa-approved Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2011, which marks the two sluice gates flanking the plot, the Authority held that the land falls outside the CRZ. The ruling relies on a 2020 amendment to the CRZ Notification, which allows the High Tide Line (HTL) to be limited to the line of bunds or sluice gates if such structures existed prior to February 19, 1991, when the original CRZ Notification came into force.
As the sluice gates are reflected in the approved CZMP and were identified by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSM), the GCZMA ruled that CRZ provisions — including NDZ restrictions — are not applicable to the Aldona property.
The Authority also dismissed claims that the plot lies within a mangrove buffer as notified under the CZMP declaration dated September 7, 2022. It observed that since the structures on the land predate the mangrove buffer notification, the protective norms cannot be applied retrospectively.
Having determined that the property is unaffected by tidal influence, falls outside CRZ limits and is not subject to post-facto mangrove buffer restrictions, the GCZMA concluded that it had no jurisdiction to pursue the matter further. The complaint was termed “devoid of merit,” no show-cause notice was issued, and the proceedings were closed.
Although the order does not explicitly name the owner, the bungalow has been linked to former chief secretary Puneet Goel, a detail that has intensified public scrutiny of the Authority’s reasoning.
Environmental observers warn that the ruling could set a far-reaching precedent, allowing developments in ecologically fragile areas to be shielded from regulatory action through selective reliance on CZMP mappings, interpretations of sluice gates and subsequent amendments to coastal laws.
