Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has dismissed a petition that challenged the order of the National Green Tribunal that declined to regularise structures in the No Development Zone (NDZ) of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)
This is a second setback to a project proponent Prasad Naik, who had earlier approached the NGT against the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) directing him to stall all commercial activities on his property falling in the NDZ.
Interestingly, the order comes nearly a year after the High Court had reserved its verdict on the petition. In its order on Tuesday, the High Court has granted eight weeks time to the petitioner to approach the Supreme Court, if desired.
In 2018, the NGT had ruled that structures which have come into being within the NDZ of the CRZ after 1991 are in violation of the CRZ Notification, 2011 and therefore, the structures are not to be regularised even though it may be used for dwelling purposes. The NGT had further stated that dwellings of traditional coastal communities which were protected under the CRZ Notification 2011 cannot be used for commercial purposes.
CRZ Notification makes it very specific that the dwelling units of the traditional coastal communities, including fisherfolk, tribal, as were permissible under the CRZ Notification 1991, but which have not obtained formal approval from concerned authorities under the notification shall be considered by the respective Union Territory CZMAs and that the dwelling units shall be regularised subject to conditions such as it cannot be used for any commercial activities, nor sold or transferred to non-traditional coastal community.