By: Paras Tyagi Published in: *The Wire* Date: January 8, 2026 Source: https://thewire.in/urban/goas-arpora-fire-blaming-delhi-fication-wont-mask-local-inaction While this narrative resonates emotionally, evoking lost Goan dignity, it dodges a brutal truth. Goa's tragedy stems from local panchayat inaction, not Delhi’s invasion.
The Arpora nightclub fire on December 6, 2025, which killed 25 people – mostly young migrant workers <https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/all-25-who-died-in-goa-nightclub-fire-identified-full-list-released-101765133346745.html> and four tourists trapped in a basement inferno at Birch by Romeo Lane – has ignited familiar outrage. Locals have decried ‘Delhification <https://goachronicle.com/the-delhification-of-goa-how-a-homeland-became-a-weekend-colony/> of Goa’ – Delhi’s arrogant elites turning Goa’s homeland into a weekend colony of illegal nightclubs, safety violations and cultural erosion. Recent commentary on this issue laments a “culture of managed illegality” where coastal laws and high court orders are flouted, blaming short-term bureaucrats and profit-driven outsiders. The follow-up piece <https://goachronicle.com/arpora-fire-tragedy-corruption-exists-everybody-knows-nobody-acts/> admits that everybody knows about the corruption – alleged *hafta *payments of Rs 10-20 lakh per month per club, split among the police, excise officials, ministers and panchayats. Yet, it is externalised as Delhi-style governance, imported without roots or accountability. While this narrative resonates emotionally, evoking lost Goan dignity, it dodges a brutal truth. Goa’s tragedy stems from local panchayat inaction, not Delhi’s invasion. Through provisions under the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (amended 2025 <https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=51ed63a494b0653ce8a24be559914886647962842bc38f743d73cb8a15f39e8cJmltdHM9MTc2NjUzNDQwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=0b06639d-8e94-60ac-28d9-75878f4561e8&psq=goa+panchayat+raj+act+1994+to+amendments+2025&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9zdGF0aWMuZ29>), and national guidelines like Gram Manchitra <https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s316026d60ff9b54410b3435b403afd226/uploads/2023/02/2023022211.pdf>, Goans hold the power to prevent this. Some locals claim that Goa lacks legal provisions for nightclubs, yet violations flourish under “political protection.” Reality check: Village Panchayats (VPs) under Section 47 of the Act issue construction licenses, occupancy certificates (now within 15 days per 2025 amendments), and trade licenses (Sections 69-72).The freshly passed Goa Panchayat Raj Amendment Act, 2025, restores ‘spatial planning’ <https://www.heraldgoa.in/goa/goa-corrects-30-year-special-vs-spatial-error-in-panchayat-raj-act-restoring-peoples-role-in-land-use-planning/450572/>in Section 239, mandates timely decisions – 15 days for permissions, seven for licenses – and allows for sealing unlicensed premises. If no decision is taken within the stipulated time, permissions are “deemed granted”, but only if compliant with Town & Country Planning (TCP) and other laws. Arpora’s club, on prohibited salt pans without fire NOCs or exits, bypassed this via bribes, not Delhi’s dictates. Calangute Village Panchayat sent show-cause notices to 17 clubs after the Arpora fire, proving that they knew about these violations. Unlike Delhi’s Lal Dora villages, Goa’s two-tier system (VPs and Zilla Panchayats) retains full enforcement. The myth of ‘outsider arrogance’ The Union Ministry of Urban Development had released a report by P.P. Srivastava Lal Dora Committee in 2006, exposing how 362 Lal Dora villages of Delhi transformed. Notable among them was how Hauz Khas, which was agrarian in the past, became a pub hub by the 2000s via cheap leases and rule violations by people who took advantage of the legal vacuum. Their Goa-like entertainment model ensured that rents spiked, evicting tenants and residents along with damage to structures near the 14th-century mosque. <https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi/16-hauz-khas-eateries-on-chopping-block/story-ENpT9adKjcpekolNhkXBVN.html> Another example is of Shahpur Jat, where fertile fields made way for designer studios, displacing local community. The Uphaar Cinema tragedy of 1997 that resulted in the death of 59 people due to the owners’ illegal structural modifications was also a result of 17-year temporary licenses via bribes. They were fined Rs 1,000 initially and jailed later. At the time, the civil society of Delhi too blamed “urban elites,” but it can be argued that locals enabled these illegalities by not acting against them when their action meant the most. The civil society of Goa too ignoring the tools they have to counter this. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) mandates Gram Panchayats to prepare spatial plans via Gram Manchitra – a GIS portal for village *manchitras* (maps), land-use zoning, and participatory planning. MoPR’s “Spatial Planning” guidelines require Village Panchayats to integrate town planning and form Village Development Task Forces. Yet, pre-Arpora, no panchayats used *manchitras* to zone out salt-pan clubs or audit NOCs. After the Arpora fire, TCP raids found 80% violations that panchayats could’ve sealed under Section 72-A. *Goa Bachao Abhiyan *welcomed amendments for “land-use planning at panchayat level” but this tragedy still happened, indicating the absence of a proactive civil society in Goa. We can’t ignore that solutions exist – the time to act is now. Goa and the rest of the country’s rural areas exposed to the tourism industry must mandate Village Panchayat Manchitras, integrate Gram Manchitra for zoning and move nightlife out of residential/salt pans and audit NOCs via e-Gram Swaraj. Further, non-compliant operations should be shut down. Goa can lead on this by training their *sarpanchs* and encourage citizen oversight. *Paras Tyagi is President, Centre for Youth Culture Law and Environment, Delhi*
