Sarpanch, MLA responsible for illegal constructions in Calangute: RTI activist

PANAJI: Coming down very strongly on the local MLA and the Sarpanch whom he held ‘fully responsible for illegal constructions in the Calangute constituency’, National award-winning RTI (Right to Information) activist Rajan Ghate demanded the immediate demolition of long-pending illegal structures in the jurisdiction of the Calangute constituency area including those in the villages of Candolim, Calangute, Parra and Arpora.

He also held the local MLA responsible for hill-cutting, land filling and other similar environmentally destructive activities in the constituency.

Speaking to this reporter, Ghate said that in most cases the authorities, Panchayat officials and panchas and even the MLA ‘permit’ residents to carry on illegal construction in the area, as the same residents vote for them during the elections. “It has become a give and take situation, wherein illegal construction is overlooked because the residents are voters of the MLA and panchayat ward members and support them during elections.

Ghate congratulated Town and Country Planning (TCP) Minister Vishwajit Rane for his bold and pro-active stance against illegalities in the coastal belt and said what Vishwajit Rane was doing was good for Goa.

The TCP Minister took to his Twitter handle and wrote: “It has come to my attention that 2,20,000 sqmtrs of tenanted land are being converted in Parra, Nagoa, Arpora, Candolim, & Calangute areas, in violation of land revenue code. It will be returned to its original status; a probe will be initiated on such savages violating the code.”

A week earlier, the Goa Against Corruption (GAC) had demanded the immediate demolition, by the Calangute Panchayat of an illegal structure on the Calangute beach, which has flouted all Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms and GCZMA rules.

According to social activist Minakshi Shinde and convenor of the GAC, the Calangute Panchayat had issued a notice for demolition of the structure, dated 22nd March 2021 which was signed by the Calangute VP secretary Raghuvir D. Bagkar, revoking the construction licenses granted earlier in the year 2019 for House No. 5/154 situated in Survey No. 176/16-B on the beach front. The construction license was obtained by claiming that an old pre-existent structure needed repairs and renovation due to normal wear and tear.

In spite of the year-old demolition notice and given the fact that the owner/promoter has not obtained a stay from the appellate authority, the Calangute Panchayat has failed to demolish the illegal structure, Shinde said.

Echoing Shinde’s words, Ghate said that the Panchayats have become ‘blind’ to such illegal structures as their ward members are afraid of losing their vote banks.  He came down heavily on the land filling and hill cutting in the Parra village area, as well as the illegal constructions in the Calangute, Candolim beach fronts.

The illegal restaurant on the Calangute beach is an example of collusion by Panchayat officials, who in the first case allowed it to be constructed and now have delayed for more than a year to get it demolished, Ghate said.

The appeal before the Director of Panchayats should not take such a long time and the collusion and support of the Calangute Panchayat is obvious in delaying the legal proceedings and helping out the wrongdoers, Shinde opined.