HC notice after PIL seeks demolition of Goa Hyatt

One of the coastal state’s leading five-star hotels, Grand Hyatt Goa, was issued notice on Thursday by the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court, after public interest litigation filed by a green NGO, sought its demolition citing coastal regulation zone violations.

The High Court’s division bench of Justices C V Bhadang and Nutan D Sardessai, also issued notices returnable within six weeks, to top government officials including state Chief Secretary, in connection with the PIL filed by Goa Foundation, one of the state’s leading environmental NGOs.

In its prayer, the petitioner has sought stoppage of the five-starred hotel’s operations as an interim measure.

The prayers in the petition also urge the Court to restrain the five-star hotel from further “use and exploitation of the premises for purposes of a luxury resort”.

The petition also seeks directions to both the Town Planning Department of the Goa government and the local village panchayat, to demolish the constructions which fall between the 50 to 100 meter zone from the high tide line.

The hotel is located a short distance from Panaji by the picturesque Siridao beach in North Goa district and was in public eye in 2013, when former Tehelka editor in chief Tarun Tejpal allegedly raped a junior colleague in the starred hotel’s elevator, on the sidelines of an event hosted by the media platform.