The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday barred a casino ship with a passenger capacity of 2,000 in the Mandovi river in Panaji, noting that it does not have the requisite certifications.
The court was responding to a public interest litigation filed by an association named Enough is Enough and other citizens demanding that several permissions granted to the firm Delta Pleasure Cruise Company Private Limited be set aside.
A bench of Justices Amit S Jamsandekar and Valmiki Menezes noted that currently, the company’s new vessel MV Deltin Royale does not have a certificate of survey, or a certificate under the Merchant Shipping Act specifying the ship’s tonnage, build and other details about the identity of the ship.
A certificate of survey is issued by an authorised surveyor.
The court said on Wednesday that as the vessel does not have this document, it cannot sail into the Panjim Port on the river Mandovi without obtaining all the required certifications.
“Further, even if such certificates and requirements for sailing of the vessel into the Panaji Port are obtained, the vessel shall not sail into the port without prior permission of this court,” the bench added.
The bench also took on record the statement of the state home secretary that if the Goa government decides to grant permission for casino operations on the new vessel, it would first place such a decision before the court.
Citizens in Panaji and surrounding areas have been opposing the entry of the MV Deltin Royale, a 112-metre-long casino ship, on the Mandovi river. They have argued that such a large vessel would harm the river’s ecology due to the release of sewage and effluents, hurt the livelihoods of fishers and cause noise pollution for the local residents.
The petitioners told the court that a no-objection certificate had been issued to bring in a new vessel even though the state’s ports secretary had said in a file noting from 2021 that new ships could create bottlenecks at the mooring position, according to The Indian Express.
According to the petitioners, the combined passenger capacity of the six “offshore” vessels that currently have permission to operate at the Panjim Port is 1,987. They noted that the capacity of the new vessel, at 2,000 passengers, is more than that of all the other ships put together.
The activists also contended that the company, Delta Pleasure Cruise Company, does not possess a license to operate the new vessel for gaming in the Mandovi river.
“It therefore cannot be moored in the Mandovi and no installation of electronic amusements, slot machines, gaming etc. can be carried out on the same,” The Indian Express quoted the petition as saying.
Goa currently has 17 operational casinos, of which six are offshore and 11 are onshore ones, the Hindustan Times reported. Each year, the casinos pay Rs 354 crore in annual recurring licence fees, Rs 437.2 crore in Goods and Services Tax, and Rs 11.4 crore in the form of fees to the river navigation department.
Goa, Daman and Diu and Sikkim are the only places in the country where casinos are allowed.
Also read: Amid protests across Goa, Panjim residents oppose new casino ship in Mandovi river
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