After moving Panaji city-based schools to the spacious Cujira complex, Bambolim, Government's similar plans for Margao are being met with stiff opposition. Plans are afoot to shift school campuses from the Margao heartland to the suburbs with government acquiring land admeasuring around 1.15 lakh sqmts in Davorlim, an ancestral Communidade land which was in the past reserved for grazing. The question that obviously pops up is why villagers would oppose an educational hub, when it's neither a mega housing project nor a commercial complex that is being set up.
There has been a huge influx of people from the city into Davorlim, which is just a stone's throw away. It becomes a preferred choice because land is cheaper and also because of the proximity to the city. This vast expanse is the only piece of land which Davorlim is banking on for future development. There are emotions attached because people of Davorlim have built their dreams around this land. Locals feel isolated for the fact that it was acquired on the premise of a multi-utility project around seven years back, that too amid stiff opposition.
The land may be available, but the sentiments of the locals have not been taken into account. Davorlim is not the best of villages in terms of infrastructure and a cluster of schools will surely add to the chaos much like the Cujira complex which is witnessing major traffic and parking worries.
There have been questions raised on the benefits of the school complex to the village. There are literally no takeaways for the locals in terms of job opportunities or schooling preferences for the children of the soil.
The government cannot bulldoze plans against the wishes of the locals. These are not a handful of agitators, but a large section of people who have raised their hands in unison against the proposal. If government needs to go ahead with such plans, then all stakeholders and villagers should be on the same page. Villagers have every right to be involved in decision-making and decide on what should come in their village.
Village sentiments should be respected and all stakeholders, including local MLA Luizinho Faleiro and Davorlim panchayat members should be brought on the negotiating table. There are larger issues that need to be addressed like garbage which Davorlim has been grappling with for several years. The village lacks proper infrastructure and locals have long-pending plans of a garbage segregation system and a renovated chapel at the site, besides a community project. The fight here is not against the educational hub per se, but more so of villagers wanting their land for themselves and for the welfare of the village.
