CALANGUTE,BENAULIM UNDER CRZ HAMMER

one of the biggest demolition drives in recent times, authorities razed 12 illegal structures—eight along Calangute’s Baga beach and four at Benaulim beach—within the CRZ area, with the demolitions scheduled to continue for several days. Police posses at both place kept the peace. Deputy collector Sanjiv Desai who led the South Goa demolition squad informed that while three structures—a residential house and two store rooms—were completely razed at Benaulim, the demolition of a hotel had to be abandoned halfway after the owners managed to secure a stay order from the additional director of panchayats. “Some 13 structures had been identified for demolition in Benaulim, out of which owners of nine structures obtained stay orders from the authorities. We were thus left with the task of demolishing only four structures ,” Desai told TOI. Benaulim sarpanch Carmelina Fernandes was also present during the operation. In Calangute the demolition squad moved into action around 11 am with labourers manually tearing down a shed-like structure belonging to and adjoining a popular Baga restaurant. The next demolition, a few metres away, was done by the JCB excavator, which ripped apart the front porch of another restaurant while puzzled foreigners in swimsuits mingled with locals to watch the spectacle. The eight demolished structures belonged to five different owners and included a garage, two storerooms-cum-offices, one big wooden structure and one storeroom-cumtoilet. All the structures were identified as “illegal” by the Calangute panchayat in compliance with the high court order. Accordingly, Bardez deputy collector D Redkar, Bardez block development officer S Naik and other revenue officials took the help of Calangute sarpanch Laxman Palienkar and panchayat secretary Subodh Prabhu in identifying the illegal structures. The structures have been termed illegal because they were built within the 0-200 metres no-development zone after 1991 when the CRZ notification came into force. The Calangute panchayat had initially identified around 40 illegal structures within CRZ limits of the Calangute coastline, but Redkar who supervised the demolitions till midday, told TOI that the panchayat had not given him the exact number of structures to be demolished. Redkar said that according to the statement of the panchayat secretary, about 14 Calangute residents had appealed to the Supreme Court and many others had approached the panchayats director. Some of these residents were seen clutching notices from the panchayat director directing them to remain present for a personal hearing on January 11. “That is not a stay order. A notice for personal hearing and a stay order are two different things. We have to follow the law,” Redkar said. With demolitions not possible after sunset, Naik said the operation at Calangute will resume next morning.