HC directs land owners, companies to cover hoardings in NDZ in Betim

Panjim: The Bombay High Court in Goa has directed 20 owners of land where hoardings have been installed in the No Development Zone (NDZ) and the companies using them to immediately stop displaying advertisements by covering them with cloth.

Hearing a suo motu petition regarding illegal hoardings, the court directed the executive engineer of the electricity department, Division VI, Mapusa, to disconnect the electrical connections of these 20 hoardings.

A division bench of Justices B P Deshpande and Valmiki S A Menezes asked the owners/companies to approach the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) and file their specific defense or raise their objections within a week and the GCZMA would consider such objections. But will decide. , if applicable, on a case-by-case basis and approve any necessary orders within three weeks.

Penha de Franca Gram Panchayat has been directed to monitor covering of hoardings with cloth and not to allow display of hoardings/advertisements on these 20 hoardings till further orders. The gram panchayat has also been asked to submit a compliance affidavit on the next date scheduled on or before January 12, 2024.

As per site inspection by GCZMA, all the 20 fences are within CRZ-III (River-NDZ) as per Coastal Zone Management Authority 2011 and all are exposed on riverine land within the jurisdiction of the Panchayat from Penha de Franca village.

Advocate general Devidas Pangam told the court that these 20 fences are within 100 meters (NDZ) and the GCZMA has decided to remove them for violation of the CRZ notification.