Fire-hit nightclub operated under different names claims Goa CM; violations date back to 1999

PAnaji, Jan 16 (PTI) Goa Chief government minister Pramod Sawant on fri said 'Birch by Romeo Lane', the nightclub gutted in a go off endure month claiming 25 lives, operated below different names over the years, and his government will conduct a probe into its violations since 1999. Sawant informed the state assembly that his government has started an extensive crackdown on tourism establishments operating without necessary permits and asserted that no VIP protection will be given to violators. The chief minister fielded a volley of questions from the Opposition benches regarding the fire that broke out at Birch by Romeo Lane, a nightclub at Arpora village in North Goa that claimed 25 lives last month. He pointed out that Birch by Romeo Lane had been operating under another name a few years ago. "The name of the club kept changing. The inquiry is being conducted into the violations of the club, right from 1999 when it was granted permission to be established on a tenanted land," he said. He assured the House that action would be taken on commercial establishments operating on tenanted lands. Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao demanded that the government provide data on establishments that have violated the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) laws. He accused the Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA) of not doing its job well. To this, Sawant said that the CZMA had received 534 complaints between 2021 and 2025 and had issued 336 demolition orders. He said that the Coastal Zone Management Plan, 2011, is finalised, while the Coastal Zone Management Plan, 2019, will be finalised within a year. Responding to a joint question tabled by Alemao and Congress MLA Alvares Ferreira, Sawant said that as part of a crackdown on illegal nightclubs, 47 tourism-related premises were inspected in North Goa, and of these, 17 were sealed. In South Goa, 39 establishments were inspected, of which five were sealed, he said. He said that the 22 sealed establishments were operating without NOCs from the Fire and Emergency Services Department and consent to operate from the Goa State Pollution Control Board. Sawant pointed out that some businesses took permission for a restaurant and later applied for extension of hours to serve liquor by paying necessary fees, and these same restaurants were later converted into nightclubs. Alemao alleged that some clubs, including those run by VIPs like actress Shilpa Shetty, were being protected by the government. The chief minister then asserted that, whether a VIP or VVIP, no one would be given protection, and they would have to follow the mandatory rules. He said that the magisterial inquiry has been completed in the Arpora nightclub fire, and actions are being taken accordingly. The chief minister, however, refused to table the inquiry report in the assembly, assuring that it would be made public only after a chargesheet is filed in the case. No one is being spared, as a Red Corner notice has been issued against Surinder Khosla, the owner of the club, he said. The government will get to the root of the problem by probing into the permission granted for a nightclub to be built on a saltpan in 1999, where Birch by Romeo Lane later came up. AAP MLA Venzy Viegas alleged that the Bastion Club in Morjim was allowed to operate by taking advantage of loopholes in the system. He demanded that the magisterial inquiry report into the Arpora fire be tabled in the House, and the Opposition members later rushed to the well in support of this demand.