Goa prof Sergio Carvalho’s actions spurred rules for development on country’s coasts

By Claude Alvares


Sergio Carvalho, who passed away in Goa on April 27, 2025, at 83, was not a politician, not a bureaucrat, and not an environmental activist in the formal sense.

Yet his actions in 1987 led to the creation of one of India’s most significant environmental regulations — the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification of 1991.

An academic at Nirmala Institute of Education in Panaji, Carvalho was alarmed when central govt reduced the no-development buffer along India’s coastline from 500m to 200m of the high tide line (HTL) to promote tourism.

This move came at a time when Goa was beginning to attract direct charter flights and investors eager to build beach resorts. One such resort — Ramada — was already under construction on the pristine Varca beach.

Upon obtaining a letter from the Union environment ministry, issued under the newly enacted Environment Protection Act, 1986, Carvalho found that the resort’s construction violated several provisions. It exceeded height limits, was tapping groundwater in a prohibited zone, and had built structures within 200m of the HTL.

Carvalho penned a letter to the high court, which issued a notice. But when Carvalho realised he would have to argue the case himself, he approached the newly formed Goa Foundation.

The foundation reached out to Indira Jaising, a well-known public interest lawyer, who agreed to represent the case. In court, Jaising faced Justice Gustavo Couto, who promptly stayed the Ramada construction, observing that it prima facie violated the environment ministry’s guidelines. She was then asked to file a formal petition.

Thus began Sergio Carvalho v. Union of India, a landmark case challenging central govt’s decision to reduce the no-development zone, and the specifics of the Ramada project — its height, use of groundwater, and proximity to the sea.

The final hearing came up in Dec 1988 before a division bench headed by Justice M L Pendse, a judge known for balancing development interests with legal rigour.

Pendse ruled that Indira Gandhi’s 1981 letter mandating a 500m no-development zone was not law but merely executive guidance. Ramada’s main building, meanwhile, rose to 24m, far beyond the permitted 9m.

The company argued that it had misunderstood the regulation, interpreting the height limit as applying “up to the eaves” — a loophole the environment ministry later legitimised via an office memorandum, effectively saving the structure.

The court appointed Goa’s first chief town planner (then retired) as commissioner. His report confirmed multiple violations: excessive height, tube wells drawing groundwater, and unauthorised structures within the 200m zone.

However, the commissioner also offered an ecological rationale: the 200-metre strip typically housed primary sand dunes critical to coastal stability. He endorsed a 200-metre no-development buffer.

The court accepted this reasoning and incorporated it into its ruling. Though the hotel’s main building was spared, Ramada was ordered to dismantle all structures within the 200m zone and shut down groundwater extraction. The space above the 9m height was declared unusable for commercial purpose.

Despite these partial victories, the HC ultimately dismissed the petition. Carvalho’s appeal to the Supreme Court was also unsuccessful. On paper, he had lost; but he had planted the seeds of a national policy.

In the wake of the judgment, Jaising drafted a model notification under the Environment Protection Act, which the Goa Foundation submitted to the environment ministry.

Around the same time, the Bombay Environmental Action Group submitted its own version. These efforts culminated in the CRZ notification, issued on Feb 19, 1991.

The CRZ notification was revolutionary. It formalised a no-development zone of 200m from the HTL, imposed strict guidelines for construction within 200-500m, and banned groundwater extraction within the entire 500m stretch.

For the first time, India’s entire 7,000km coastline came under a uniform legal framework to manage and restrict development.

Though the original notification was revised over the years, its core principles are intact. The CRZ rules have guided coastal development across India, all because one Goan professor decided to act.

Carvalho never took credit for the tidal shift his letter created. But on this World Environment Day, it is worth remembering that environmental protection often begins not with power or position, but with a simple sense of responsibility — and the courage to act.

(The writer is an environmental activist)