Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Village panchayats in Goa will no longer be able to proceed with sealing of unauthorised commercial premises solely on the directions of a sarpanch, with the State government introducing a structured enforcement mechanism under Section 72-A of the Goa Panchayati Raj Act.
The new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) requires the panchayat body to formally approve sealing action before premises operating without the necessary permissions can be closed.
The government has also moved to make the enforcement process a coordinated exercise involving the panchayat, Revenue Department and Police authorities. District-level teams are proposed to be constituted in both North Goa and South Goa, with the teams working alongside the respective Director of Panchayats.
The framework follows the recent amendment to the Panchayati Raj Act, through which panchayats were granted the power to seal establishments functioning without the requisite permission.
The expansion of these powers had, however, raised questions about safeguards governing their use. Concerns included the possibility of arbitrary action, the role of individual office-bearers and adherence to basic principles of natural justice.
The government’s SOP seeks to address these concerns by establishing a common procedure that panchayats are required to follow before taking the extreme step of sealing a property.
The issue had also come into focus after Calangute sarpanch Joseph Sequeira led action against alleged illegal clubs operating within the panchayat jurisdiction. The episode prompted questions over whether a sarpanch could independently exercise the newly granted statutory power.
Under the revised mechanism, such action will now have to pass through the panchayat’s institutional decision-making process and involve the designated authorities at the district level.
