Panaji: The Bombay HC has issued notices to Goa govt, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), and the Calangute panchayat in a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging destruction of large tracts of beach vegetation and cutting of trees on govt land under the tourism department’s custody at Tivai Waddo, Calangute. The matter will be heard on Sep 16.On Aug 12, a division bench of Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit Jamsandekar directed that notice be issued to the panchayat and two individual respondents, returnable on Sep 16.The PIL was filed by two locals living near the beach against state govt and the tourism department, the town and country planning department, the Calangute village panchayat, a ward member, and a zilla parishad member.The petition states that from the last week of July, residents observed about 700sqm of beach vegetation and dunes on govt land bordering the public beach being cleared using heavy earth machinery. The petitioners allege 15–20 truckloads of beach sand were removed and replaced with about 25 truckloads of construction debris and red mud to create road access, and that several fully grown trees were uprooted overnight.They claim the work was carried out using zilla panchayat funds without permission from the tourism department, GCZMA, or the local panchayat, and was portrayed as a sports facility by installing two goalposts, while actually intended to create access for real estate development in a no-development zone.The petitioners say they submitted complaints to multiple authorities on July 29 and 31, but no site inspection or stop-work order followed. The GCZMA, in an Aug 7 letter, forwarded the complaint to the North Goa collector seeking inspection and a report within 30 days, which the petitioners term an abdication of the GCZMA’s statutory duty to protect the coastal ecosystem.
