Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Western Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Pune has rejected an appeal by the Merces village panchayat against the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority’s (GCZMA) demolition order dated December 10, 2024, regarding the unauthorized construction of an immersion site in a mangrove area in Murda village of Tiswadi taluka. Tours of wildlife
The panchayat had conducted significant building in a Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) area without acquiring previous clearances, according to the bench, which was made up of expert member Dr. K Satyagopal and judicial member Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh.
The structures included GI sheet roofing shed with MS channels spanning 84 sq metres, a paver-covered plinth of 347 square metres, and a developed pond measuring 79 square metres with concrete steps and anti-skid tiles.
The panchayat must immediately follow the GCZMA’s directive to remove any unauthorized buildings and return the property to its original state.
According to the panchayat’s response to the show cause notice, the immersion site was moved since the right side of the highway between Panaji and Bambolim was impassable owing to NH-66 construction. Mehboob A. Mulla was chosen as the contractor, and the project was finished in 2021.
The GCZMA stated that rehabilitation of holy sites still requires prior consent from the authority, even though it acknowledged the religious emotions and hardships experienced by residents as a result of the highway development.
The Merces panchayat, supported by counsel, contended at the hearing on February 13, 2025, that the building was required because the expansion of NH-66 had disturbed traditional ceremonial locations. Citing “religious sentiments,” they asserted that the structures may be regularized in the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2024.
The panel, which included Dr. Vijay Kulkarni, an expert member, and Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh, a judicial member, postponed the hearing by one day so that the Panchayat could present the relevant legal documents.
