OLD GOA
In his budget, the chief minister Manohar Parrikar has mentioned about rehabilitation of three slum areas in Goa, which includes Indira Nagar locality in Chimbel, which has a population of over 10,000 people.
However, no mention has been made about the type of rehabilitation the government is talking about. Chimbel panchayat authorities, too, are in the dark about the plan as they informed that they have not received any intimation from the govt in this regard. And to add to the confusion, rumours have already started doing the rounds in Indira Nagar that the government is going to demolish the houses to pave way for multi-storied buildings.
When contacted, a resident, Shabuddin Shaikh alias Iqbal, informed The Goan that though he has
heard about govt’s move of rehabilitation, he was not aware about the exact plan.
Shaikh then went on to add that if the govt plans to demolish houses, there would be opposition from the residents as people have spent a lot of money in renovating their houses to meet the requirements of growing families.
“What we want is for the government to provide sanitation facilities like proper sewerage network,
toilet facilities, etc,” he added, while stating that it should not come at a cost of demolition of houses.
A Goan who owns a house in the 20-point programme area, requesting anonymity, sought to know if all houses would be demolished, including the ones having legal status. “In that case, our demand is that we should be rehabilitated in the same area we are currently residing, failing which I won’t hesitate in knocking the doors of the court to get justice,” he said.
Another resident, however, welcomed the decision. “From what I have heard from sources, the govt will choose a cluster of houses, demolish them and then build a ground plus two-storied building in which all the affected families would be rehabilitated.”
“In this building, all facilities like sewage, garbage treatment would be provided and also there will be place for garden,” informed the resident, while stating that a similar rehabilitation plan has been done in Bangalore.
