Team Herald
MARGAO: Stepping up the ante against former Indian cricketer Ashish Nehra, the Cavelossim village panchayat has issued him a notice to initiate necessary steps to restore the dug up land to its original condition within 30-days.
The notice was issued to Nehra through his Power of Attorney (POA) holder Himanshu Jain, who has an office in Margao.
“I have met the Member Secretary of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) personally and requested that the Authority issues directions to the violators in this matter, asking them to restore the place back to its original status. We want to protect out village from illegalities but need more support from the higher authorities so that no one will dare to destroy our village,” said Sarpanch Dixon Vaz while speaking to O Heraldo.
Incidentally, this development comes just days after residents of Cavelossim expressed outrage over the authorities’ apparent inaction regarding the controversial road. Villagers had raised concerns about the delay on the panchayat’s part, to ensure the land's restoration, despite earlier assurances that the issue was being addressed.
In the official notice, Cavelossim Sarpanch referred to the previous stop-work order issued by the Panchayat on August 14, 2024, which had called for an immediate halt to all construction activities on the disputed site, located in survey number 95/1-C.
The notice also required the submission of all legal documents related to the ongoing work, but the Panchayat has not yet received a response from Nehra’s POA.
The latest notice reiterates the demand for compliance, stating, “The Village Panchayat Cavelossim is directing you to take necessary measures to restore the land area back to its original condition within 30 days from the date of receipt of this notice, failing which further action under sub-section 4 of Section 66 of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act 1994 shall be taken.”
A copy of the notice has also been sent to the GCZMA, which also recently conducted a suo moto inspection of the site.
The villagers have been pushing for swift action against Nehra, who they claim is responsible for constructing the road in violation of coastal regulations. They have questioned why, despite a stop-work order being in place, the road has not been removed and the land returned to its previous state. The Panchayat, while asserting that it had taken necessary steps by issuing the notice, has been criticized for the lack of visible progress in restoring the area.
The villagers are now calling for clarity on what measures the GCZMA intends to take following their inspection, as the road remains in place despite the violations of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.
With the 30-day deadline now set, both the Panchayat and the GCZMA are under pressure to act decisively in the face of mounting public scrutiny over the illegal road in Cavelossim’s NDZ.
The villagers have also vowed to follow up the matter until their demands are met with.