ARPORA/PANAJI: An insider in the know of the dealings of the Arpora-Nagoa Village Panchayat (ANVP) has alleged that huge bribes were paid to the panchayat members, secretary, sarpanch and panchas to obtain licenses and permissions for the Goa Romeo Lane club. Even for a local Goan villager, in order to obtain panchayat NOC for house repair, bribes have to be paid. Just imagine how much money must have exchanged hands in order to allow “outsiders” to set up and run an otherwise illegal club, the insider demanded to know, alleging that a powerful politician from the coastal belt was a partner in the club’s business.
Speaking to GFBT.LIVE on condition of anonymity, the individual who is part of the panchayat, alleged that all ANVP members were aware that the property was under dispute and there was an ongoing civil case filed by the original owner Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar. They were also aware that the club was not fire compliant, did not have requiste fire fighting equipment in case of emergencies and was always overcrowded.
Amonkar has openly alleged that the land on which the deadly fire-ravaged ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ stood, was clandestinely and illegally converted from a salt pan to a settlement zone without his knowledge, to benefit the illegal owners of the club. “No notice was served to me. I am the original owner. I had signed a sale agreement with one Surinder Kumar Khosla in 2004, but it was withdrawn within six months as he did not pay me the agreed amount for the property. Kholsa had set up a nightclub on the land, and later on leased it as he was unable to run it successfully. It was later taken over by Delhi-based Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of Birch by Romeo Lane,” Amonkar told this reporter, adding that the VP members were all fully aware of this matter.
The permissions issued by the ANVP and other related government departments included trade license, excise and food safety licences, a pollution control body’s NOC, and three no-objection certificates (NOCs). According to available information, M/S Being GS Hospitality Goa Arpora LLP, which operates Romeo Lane, Arpora, has Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra and Ajay Gupta as partners, and had entered into a licence agreement with the property owner, Surinder Kumar Khosla, on November 28, 2023, to lease a property called ‘Cordonicho Agor’ at Sankwadi, Arpora, measuring 31,200 square metres. Amonkar claims Khosla cheated him and stated that he has not got paid for his land. Khosla leased the land and bribed Panchayat officials to get the NOCs and trade license, in spite of knowing the facts, Amonkar alleged.
According to an Indian Express report, the Arpora-Nagoa village panchayat is under scrutiny for issuing an establishment (trade) licence dated December 16, 2023, to the company for running “a bar and restaurant-cum-night club”. The trade licence expired in March 2024. The panchayat also issued three NOCs to property owner Khosla — for an electrical connection, a water connection, and to carry out repair work in the house at Sankwadi.
According to the documents, the sarpanch of Arpora-Nagoa village panchayat, Roshan V Redkar, signed off on the establishment licence issued to Birch and on the three NOCs issued to the property owner. The premises continued to operate after the expiry of the trade licence in March 2024. Redkar had earlier claimed that the structure was built without procuring a construction licence, and that the owner had obtained a stay on a demolition order issued by the Panchayat. The demolition order was stayed by the Director of Panchayats’, after the club operators appealed the ANVP demolition order.
Sarpanch Redkar and the Panchayat secretary had both applied for anticipatory bail, which was granted by a local sessions court. The duo were extensively questioned by the Goa police in the ongoing investigations. The local police are trying to sheild the panchayat members, including the sarpanch and the panchayat secretary, who have taken bribes along with others, our source revealed.
Leave a Reply