Hundreds of complaints pile up as Goa CZMA slumbers, files go missing

PANAJI: Hundreds of complaints over the last two years by Goans across the length and breadth of the state have piled up at the office of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), with no action being taken.

Savio Fernandes from Benaulim who had filed a written complaint with the GCZMA last year, said the officials could not find his complaint when he visited the office recently, in spite of the fact that he had an acknowledged, stamped copy of the original complaint.

Similarly, a written complaint against an illegal restaurant in Calangute sent last year has also disappeared from the files and records of the GCZMA.

Many more similar complaint copies seem to have vanished into thin air from the office of the GCZMA.

According to a prominent Goan environment lawyer and activist who requested anonymity, “there is no proper follow-up system at the GCZMA and complaints sent by people are not screened adequately. Several written complaints have been brushed aside without even a cursory investigation or enquiry and now several files have gone missing or have been misplaced by the officials at the GCZMA office.”

According to a media report, some crucial files and sets of documents could have gone missing or could have been misplaced in error, from the office of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) office at Patto in Panaji.

The report stated that several files and sets of documents related to RTI queries and other matters could not be found. However, the source quoted in the report also added that the files could be misplaced and kept elsewhere with older files, after a recent clean-up of the setup.

“We were cleaning up and rearranging old records. Fortunately, most documents and files are also stored in digital format, but some papers may not have been digitised and are not to be found. Maybe, they have been misplaced and kept elsewhere. We are looking into it,” the office source said.

The GCZMA member secretary or Chairman and other officials were not available for official comments in this matter.

According to social activist Benedict D’souza from Calangute, files which are not traceable must be located as soon as possible. There is a lot of media hype regarding some environment and land conversion issues in the State. Big names are involved and the concerned authorities at the GCZMA must look into the allegations of the missing files and documents.

However, Minakshi Shinde of the Goa Against Corruption alleged foul play, stating that someone at  the GCZMA is trying to protect a rich and powerful politician from North Goa, who is in the eye of a storm over illegal land conversions in the Arpora-Parra-Calangute-Candolim belt.

Days earlier, the Panchayat Secretary at the Calangute VP office, Arjun Velip told the Navhind Times that hundreds of files have gone missing from the storage room of the Village Panchayat.

Senior officials at the Directorate of Panchayats were not ready to comment, only stating that they are looking into the matter.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We have received a communication from the Department of Information & Publicity, Govt. of Goa, concerning the above article. We have reproduced the clarification “as is” below:

The office of Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority want to clarify as under:

1. None of GCZMA officials met any such news reporter and gave such information as reported in the articles. Authority totally denies the contents of articles so recorded as same may be false information.
2. Authority never received any complaint with regards to missing of any files from GCZMA office, hence missing files and misplacement of any documents from office of GCZMA is totally a vague report as reported in said article.
3. As far as RTI applications are concerned, if any documents are not furnished to the applicants on ground of misplacement in that case there is no single appeal filed before Appellant Authority under RTI Act 2005 for not furnishing information.