CMC YET TO ACT AGAINST MORE TAHN 30 ILLEGAL STRUCTURES AT PALOLEM BEACH IN CANACONA

More than thirty illegal temporary structures have been erected at Palolem beach at Canacona, in violation of the CRZ rules and regulation. Surprisingly the Canacona Municipal Council (CMC), is not taking any action against these structures or against those who have constructed them.
Mr D Pagui, former vice-chairperson of CMC from Palolem, said that fishermen from Palolem have also protested against construction of wooden footbridge, across the rivulet in Palolem. Due to this illegal footbridge across the rivulet at Palolem-Devabhag, the business of the fishing community is severally affected and they are facing hardships, as access to the fishing areas is curtailed.According to sources, the footbridge has been allegedly erected by a shack owner, to bolster his business, by luring the tourist on the other side of the rivulet. The fishermen, whose canoes cannot cross to the other side of the rivulet due to this blockade, have protested against the construction. Mr Premanand Pagui an affected fisherman, speaking to ‘The Navhind Times’ said that they have brought the matter to the notice of CMC chairperson and councillors, but despite a month having lapsed, no action has been taken to demolish the illegal bridge. The chief officer of the CMC, Mr Naik expressed shock over the construction of the footbridge and said that he was totally unaware and nobody had approached him with grievances pertaining to the matter. He said that he will carry out a site inspection, along with market inspector and the concerned engineer soon. According to sources in CMC, occupancy certificates for buildings, which are incomplete, have been issued without any legality and that the chief officer is intending to take to task the person in-charge. If sources are to be believed, most tourism activities in the taluka thrive on illegal utilisation of facilities, ranging from water supply to electricity.The CMC office record shows just a few tent and huts, but the ground reality is that there are so many illegal structures in place. The CMC is losing revenue in this regard. According to citizens here, the famous tourism belt of CMC, which has the prime beach of Palolem, besides other beaches at Colomb, Patnem and Rajbhag-Tarir are losing their charm and beauty due to illegal activities. Palolem is one of the most beautiful beaches in South Goa and caters to the low-budget foreign tourists who flock here. Several illegal tourism-related constructions have come up here, that are destroying the natural beauty of the area and also making tourism more commercialised.