A group of Shiv Premis presented their case to the South Goa District Collector on Wednesday.
Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
A group of Shiv Premis visited the South Goa District Collector on Wednesday to submit documents demonstrating that they did not engage in any unlawful activity while erecting the Shivaji statue in Areal village.
Anant Tandel, speaking to the media after meeting with the District Collector, stated that they had acquired a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the landowner, Sartaj Makandar, to install the statue on a plot measuring 24 metres. He also presented an affidavit-cum-NOC from a tenant, indicating no objection to the use of the property for this purpose.
"We applied for permission from the Sub-Divisional Magistrate in December last year to install the Shivaji statue on Makandar's property. We were informed that no permission was necessary to install the statue on one's own property," he explained.
Tandel added that due to delays in obtaining permission from the Panchayat to construct a PCC plinth, they improvised an angle to install the statue. "Although we approached the TCP for permission, we were informed that permission was not required for filling an area of less than one metre. Consequently, we used approximately 5-6 trucks to level the area. When machinery was brought in to clean up the site, objections were raised by the locals," he recounted.
Tandel reiterated that no illegality was committed given the NOC obtained from the landowner to install the statue on the property in question. Sao Jose de Areal villagers have called for a meeting at Padribhat to discuss the issue on Thursday evening.
