Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has demanded an action plan of demolition from the owners of the Sunburn Club in Vagator, Goa over an unauthorized structure.
In December last year this two storeyed building was sealed by the GCZMA after it was found that it was an illegal building. The owner of the structure agreed to abolish it and sought four week’s time for it. But the GCZMA demanded a compliance report and asked the building to be brought down within a week’s time.
Earlier last year locals and residents of the neighbourhood raised concerns and made several complaints to the GCZMA about the illegal structure as well as the Ozran stretch of the Vagator coast being renamed as “Sunburn Beach” by the owner of the hotel.
Following this, a GCZMA inspection was carried out and found the hotel to be in violation of Coastal Regulations Zone ( CRZ) norms. The building was a two storey structure of permanent nature utilized for commercial use as a club.
No records were found of any permission being issued for the construction of this structure according to GCZMA records. The owner was asked to produce the legal documents that permitted him to build this structure in the no development Zone of CRZ. But the owner failed to produce the valid documents resulting in the structure getting sealed and the owner being called for a hearing on January 14th.
While illegal constructions along Goa’s beaches have been a menace for several years, Goa tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar, on August 7, 2019, said all illegal constructions along the state’s beaches would be demolished.
According to the Goa Regularization of Unauthorized Construction Act, constructions that fall within the limits of protected forests, wildlife sanctuaries, areas covered under Coastal Regulation Zone, no development zones will not be considered for legalization.
