HIGH COURT CURBS ON NEW COASTAL STRUCTURES

Irked by the inaction on the part of coastal panchayats to tackle garbage menace, the High Court of Bombay at Goa directed the local bodies along the coastal belt not to issue any fresh Occupancy Certificate (OC) to new construction projects having more than “five family units” until they fully comply with the court’s earlier directives on setting up of garbage disposal facilities.The court however, clarified that the panchayats could issue OC if the developer makes sufficient arrangements to take care of the garbage in the project by constructing garbage disposal and composting facilities. The Division Bench of Justice N A Britto and Justice U D Salvi observed that “no facilities worth their name have been put in place. Garbage can be seen everywhere. This can only result in health hazards to the community at large.”The court expressed disappointment over the inaction of the panchayats to put up garbage collection, segregation and disposal facilities. The Bench also noted that “although the panchayats are quick in sanctioning large construction projects, they are very slow in putting in place garbage disposal facilities. Large projects are bound to produce large waste which has to be collected, segregated and disposed. Waste disposal sites have not been put in place for the last 7 years.”The Court has also issued show cause notices to Cansaulim, Majorda, Betalbatim, Naqueri-Betul, Fatorpa, Cavellossim, Anjuna, Colva, Morjim, Paliem, Arambol, Mandrem, Chicalim, Sancoale, Chicolna-Bogmalo and Calangute panchayats as to why the Rs 25,000 deposited by them with the court should not be forfeited for not complying with the courts directions.The bench passed the directions during the hearing of a suo motu writ petition questioning the garbage disposal system in the State. During the hearing, Senior Counsel A N S Nadkarni appearing for GSPCB said that none of the panchayats had been sincere in tackling the garbage menace. That they have not complied to the court’s directions is evident from the inspection report.The Bench has further directed the panchayats to comply with the directives at least by the next date of hearing – which is four weeks from now — failing which the court would take appropriate action including contempt proceedings against the panchayats.The Court had on February 18, 2009 passed an order directing the coastal panchayats to collect, segregate and dispose off the garbage by building composting units. The Court had also directed the panchayats to collect the plastic waste for recycling.On June 23, 2009, the court had directed the coastal panchayats to deposit Rs 25,000 each for showing their bona fides in dealing with the “serious garbage issue” after an inspection report of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) pointed out that they had not complied with the directives.Later, on November 25, 2009, the court had asked the GSPCB to carry out a fresh inspection of the garbage disposal sites of the 26 coastal panchayats in the State for verifying whether the court’s earlier directions were being violated. Accordingly, the GSPCB had on December 17, 2009 filed an inspection report before the court.