EDITORIAL
The govt must ensure that HC directions on illegal constructions are adhered to
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has slammed village panchayats for failing to file compliance reports on action taken against illegal constructions. Around 120 village panchayats are yet to file the reports.
A division bench comprising Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit Jamsandekar on Monday directed the Director of Panchayats to inquire into the panchayat secretaries concerned for their failure to comply with the orders. The secretaries will also face disciplinary action under the service rules for dereliction of duty. The court has given the Directorate four weeks to complete the inquiry and submit the compliance report. Some panchayats not only did not file compliance reports, but also did not seek an extension of time to do so.
The High Court must be complimented for issuing directions to act against the erring village panchayat secretaries. Many questions arise when such government employees show arrogance: will any panchayat secretary take such an approach on his own, or is it with some political backing or instructions? Has there been any support from the respective sarpanch to follow the court order? It is the secretary’s job to ensure that rules and court orders are followed. Apart from the court order, should the errant secretaries not face action from their higher authorities if the government is clean on such matters? The policies being followed by the government are encouraging those indulging in illegal constructions and other illegalities. In the instant matter, politicians – whether MLAs, ministers or sarpanchas – should be exposed for lending support to illegal constructions. It is alleged that in many assembly constituencies, the elected representative concerned decides what is illegal or legal. Houses of those who do not support the MLA often face action, while those of his workers, even if blatantly illegal, are protected. This is not the rule of law. The director of panchayats or the minister concerned should issue directions to make the names of the secretaries who support such MLAs public.
The Birch inferno killed 25 people – all because the authorities allowed illegalities to thrive. The government will say that it took prompt action leading to the arrest of the sarpanch and panchayat secretary, who was subsequently dismissed from government service. Good action, one would say. However, as stated earlier, this action cannot be viewed in isolation. The Birch nightclub incident, which drew global media attention, cannot be pushed under the carpet without taking necessary action against the same kind of people who encourage illegalities.
The court was pained by what is happening in the state – the menacing and unchecked growth of illegal constructions. Hence, it suo motu took up the matter more than a year ago, and hearings have been held since then. It had categorised illegal constructions into five segments –roadside violations in municipal and panchayat areas; commercial illegal structures in both municipal and panchayat areas; and illegal constructions in paddy fields. One of the court’s observations was: open spaces are being encroached upon, paddy fields are being converted without permission and road widening areas are being encroached upon.
Several orders have already been passed by the High Court from time to time to effectively address the issue. However, there has been no effective implementation or compliance with the orders passed by the court. “Goa is a paradise and it should look like a paradise,” the court remarked during one hearing.
The government must ensure that the court directives are adhered to. It will also show whether the government is genuinely interested in stopping the menace of illegal constructions.
