Disqualified Arpora sarpanch blames secy for licence lapses

Panaji: The disqualified sarpanch of the Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sought to shift blame onto the dismissed secretary for post trade licence lapses while seeking anticipatory bail before the high court in connection with the Birch by Romeo Lane fire case.Senior advocate Nitin Sardesai said the sarpanch cannot be blamed for post trade licence lapses and contended that the secretary kept both the panchayat and the sarpanch in the dark.He told the court that the panchayat had been issuing trade licences for the same property since 2014, when his client was not the sarpanch. The trade licence expired on March 31, 2024, and the panchayat issued a show-cause notice in March 2025 for illegally running the business, including a nightclub.The court questioned the “gap of almost one year” in issuing the show-cause notice after the trade licence expired. Sardesai said the information was not placed before the panchayat and that the secretary kept the sarpanch and the panchayat, in the dark.The court also observed that the demolition notice was issued on April 4, 2024, four days after the trade licence expired, but the panchayat still took one year to issue a show-cause notice following the expiry.

Sardesai said the panchayat did not wish to initiate parallel proceedings as it had already issued the demolition order and was under the impression that the structures would be demolished. He said the issue should have been placed before the panchayat by the secretary.Sardesai further said the demolition notice was stayed by the director of panchayats. The judge, while reading the roznama of the order granting the stay on June 11, 2024, observed that the advocate representing the panchayat was absent despite being served.

Sardesai said the grant of a trade licence is not an individual act of the sarpanch but a decision of the panchayat body. The panchayat, per se, does not look into obtaining other NOCs and serves only as the starting point, after which parties approach other departments for permissions.The judge asked whether the panchayat is not required to ensure that mandatory permissions are in place before granting a trade licence.Public prosecutor S Karpe said panchayats are required to grant a provisional licence, based on which the applicant obtains other NOCs, after which a final trade licence is issued. In this case, he said, the panchayat directly issued a final trade licence. Karpe said govt issued a memorandum in Oct 2017 laying down the procedure for issuance of trade licences, mandating provisional permission first and providing a checklist to be followed by panchayats before granting a final licence.The high court will continue hearing arguments in the anticipatory bail pleas of the sarpanch and secretary on Tuesday.