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Calangute Panchayat Officials Paid Rs 50 Lakh “Bribe” For Restaurant License To Illegal Structure: Activist
PANAJI: A social activist from Pernem in North Goa, Minakshi Shinde, has alleged that the Calangute Panchayat officials including the Panchayat Secretary and the Sarpanch were totally paid a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to grant restaurant licenses or NOC to a disputed illegal structure on the Calangute beach, which falls within 200 meters of the High Tide Line (HTL) and within the no-construction zone or NDZ.
As reported earlier, in a shocking instance of corruption and criminal manipulation of official land and property records, the Calangute Panchayat (North Goa) has issued a restaurant license (or NOC for running restaurant business) to the same very structure it had ordered to be demolished for blatant CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) violations, 14 months earlier.
Shinde alleged that Calangute Panchayat officials were “bribed” with a sum of Rs 50 lakh totally to allow the illegal structure on the Calangute beach to continue its existence (in spite a standing and valid demolition order) and even granted it an NOC on May 6th this year, to carry on restaurant business.
Speaking to this reporter, Shinde claimed that every Panchayat official involved in the matter, including one Francis Rodrigues, a former Sarpanch, from Madda vaddo, the Panchayat secretary and the Sarpanch were “paid” Rs 10 lakh each to permit the illegal structure to be used for restaurant business and to grant an NOC for the same. (Read Here)
According to documents accessed by IndyaTv.in, the Calangute Panchayat had issued a notice for demolition of the structure dated 22nd March 2021, signed by the Calangute VP secretary Raghuvir D. Bagkar revoking construction licenses granted earlier in the year 2019 for House No. 5/154 situated in Survey No. 176/16-B.
House No. 5/154 in Survey No. 176/16-B and and 176/25-A is owned by Delhi-based M/s Convention Hotels Pvt Ltd and is in complete violation of CRZ rules, which prohibit any construction or commercial activity on the beach.
The notice dated 22nd March 2021 issued by the Calangute VP instructed M/s Convention Hotels Pvt Ltd – owned by a Delhi-based businessman Rama Arora alias Rajiv Kumar alias Rajeev Arora to demolish the structure within 15 days, failing which the Panchayat would initiate the demolition process on its own.
According to documents viewed by IndyaTv.in, the Calangute VP issued a demolition order under Section 66(4) of the Goa Panchayat Act, 1994 having Ref. No. VP/Cal/F-20/20-21/5037 and dated 23.03.2021, revoking the renewal of construction licence bearing Ref. No.VP/Cal/F-13/18-19/L-84/5326, dated 07.03.2019. (Read the full story here)