Goa is a paradise, should look like one, says HC in illegal structures case

Panaji: In a suo motu petition concerning illegal structures in Goa, the Bombay high court on Tuesday gave the two nodal officers representing panchayats and municipalities four weeks to submit compliance reports on action local bodies took against illegal constructions on roadsides, highways, and major roads in both panchayat and municipal areas.

“Goa is a paradise. It should look like a paradise,” the bench comprising justices Suman Shyam and Amit Jamsandekar orally observe. It also gave panchayats and municipalities that did not submit compliance reports one week to submit them.


After the hearing, advocate general Devidas Pangam said that the high court first wanted to focus on structures abutting the road and later focus on illegal structures on private and govt lands.

He said the two nodal officers were supposed to scrutinise the compliances filed by panchayats and municipalities and find out how much work they did to demolish illegal structures on the roadside.

As the compliance reports prepared by local bodies are voluminous, the high court last month appointed two nodal officers, the deputy director of municipal administration and the extension officer of the directorate of panchayats, to analyse reports of municipalities and panchayats to check compliance with its orders in its suo motu petition concerning illegal structures across Goa.