The High Court has issued notices to state authorities and project proponent Michael Lobo in a Public Interest Litigation filed over alleged illegal permanent construction and environmental destruction in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ-III), No Development Zone (NDZ) of Anjuna village.

The PIL filed by local activist Desmond Alvares challenges the erection of permanent structures using cast-iron pillars and concrete footings in Survey Nos. 354/1, 340/0, and 340/1. The petition alleges that these structures were built under the guise of an approval granted by the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) in January 2025, which was strictly for temporary wooden structures.

The PIL alleges severe ecological destruction, including the flattening of six-to-seven-foot sand dunes using heavy machinery, the illegal extraction of approximately 40 truckloads of sand, and the unauthorised construction of a borewell in a prohibited area. The petitioner further claims that an illegal approach road, laid with metal aggregate, was constructed just 20 metres from the seashore.

A key flashpoint in the controversy occurred on June 12, 2025, when GCZMA officials were allegedly prevented from inspecting the site by bouncers deployed at the project’s main gate. The Anjuna-Caisua Village Panchayat is also accused of issuing a construction licence without the mandatory technical clearance from the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department or a land-conversion sanad. Despite directives from the Chief Town Planner and the District Collector in July and August 2025 to inspect the site, the authorities allegedly failed to act.

In its order, the High Court directed the issuance of notices to all government respondents and the private respondent Michael Lobo. The court warned that the concerned officers would be personally liable to pay exemplary costs if they failed to file their affidavits within the stipulated four-week period.