Times of India | 1 day ago | 09-09-2022 | 05:57 am

PANAJI: Major portions of the controversial Curlies restaurant, night club and guest house at Dando, Anjuna, are set to be demolished after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) refused to grant relief to Edwin Nunes and Linet Nunes, who run the establishment. The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) had earlier ordered the demolition of Curlies, which Linet had challenged before the NGT. Curlies has been in the news most recently in connection with the death of BJP functionary Sonali Phogat, with Edwin being among the four arrested in connection with the case. He is presently out on conditional bail. The NGT said that Curlies had extended far beyond the original structure that existed prior to 1991. Though Linet said that not all the structures belong to her, the tribunal said that the fact remains that all the structures have been occupied by her. “Fresh construction has been raised in replacement of the original one for commercial purposes, without requisite permission, in a no-development zone. We thus do not find any merit in the appeal (by Linet),” said the tribunal. Linet, said the NGT, has only been able to produce an NOC granted by the village panchayat for one survey number. “The question is whether structures now found are the same that existed prior to 1991 in respect of which the NOC was given by the panchayat or house tax receipts were issued. The answer is ‘no’. The nature of the structure at present is a permanent construction, beyond the original temporary construction limited to survey number 42/10. Present constructions extend to survey numbers 42/9, 11, 45/19, 45/41,” the tribunal said. Despite the GCZMA’s demolition orders issued on July 21, 2016, Curlies continued to operate as Linet challenged the order before the NGT. The GCZMA had ordered to stop commercial activities, had asked the PWD and the power department to cut off the supply of water and electricity respectively, and the panchayat to withdraw any permissions. But Curlies continued to run until recently, despite the orders. Activist Kashinath Shetye, based on whose complaint the CRZ violations by Curlies were investigated, had told the GCZMA that no restaurant existed earlier and that the construction was carried out right on the Anjuna beach and on a sand dune, which is CRZ-I area. The GCZMA’s expert members’ report showed that the permanent structures had been constructed after 2003 and rejected the plea that the structures existed prior to 1991. “The Google images of 2003 do not show any structure in the said property. Therefore, it is apparent that said structure is new and has been constructed in violation of the CRZ Notification right on the high tide line of the sea,” the expert members said.

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