PIL against memorial dedicated to Manohar Parrikar at Panaji beach

On the eve of former Defence Minister late Manohar Parrikar’s first death anniversary, a PIL filed before the Bombay High Court bench in Goa has challenged the state government’s decision to erect a memorial dedicated to the former Chief Minister at Panaji’s popular Miramar beach.

The public interest litigation filed by Devika Sequeira, a local resident, claims that the memorial, which according to the government’s plan, is expected to be constructed over 1255 sq.mts of beach area, would be ecologically harmful to the beach.

“The said location of the memorial falls in sandy terrain with natural sand dune. The petitioner states that along the river front is a no development zone from 100 meters distance of the high tide line and whether the area falls under CRZ-II or CRZ-III does not make any difference,” the petition states, adding that the proposed site of the memorial, for which the BJP-led coalition government has set aside Rs. 10 crore for construction, is located in the ‘no development zone’ in the state’s coastal zone management plan.

“The petitioner submits that if the memorial is allowed to be constructed and erected on the sandy Miramar beach, politicians presently in power and those yet to come to power in the future will seek to erect memorials to other political figures too, which would convert beaches in the State of Goa into memorial parks for politicians,” the petition also states.

Parrikar, who died on March 17 last year, was represented the constituency of Panaji from 1994.

The PIL was heard by the High Court bench on Monday. The petitioner’s lawyer Rohit Bras D’Sa said that the case would be heard by the Court, after its self-imposed moratorium in wake of the coronavirus scare ends.