MARGAO
Benaulim villagers on Thursday vowed to protect the village from destruction by the Western bypass as they resolved to knock on the doors of all and sundry, including the Supreme Court and the Prime Minister’s Office, to ensure the bypass is built on stilts.
The villagers have resolved to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) seeking the intervention of the PM to sanction additional funds to build the bypass on stilts.
In this respect, a massive signature campaign will kick start immediately to take the signatures of 10,000 people, including children, to demand the bypass on stilts.
Given that the 10-member National Green Tribunal (NGT) panel has recommended the construction of the bypass on stilts for a stretch admeasuring 980 meters in Seraulim and Mungul, the villagers have decided to challenge the findings of the panel in respect of the Benaulim stretch, where the panel has not given relief to the prayer of the petitioner Royla Fernandes to build the entire 2.75 km stretch on stilts.
The gram sabha also constituted a 16-member panel, comprising all the 11 panchayat members and five gram sabha members, to take the issue of the bypass to its logical conclusion. In this respect, the Benaulim panchayat will call for a meeting immediately to confirm the decisions taken at the Thursday gram sabha.
The special gram sabha meeting chaired by Sarpanch Vencila Fernandes, was convened on Thursday to discuss the burning issues of the Western bypass on stilts and the discharge of treated sewage waters of the Colva STP into the river Sal via Benaulim, have adopted around seven resolutions.
Petitioner in the NGT gram sabha member, Royla Fernandes, briefed the meeting on her petition before the NGT and her decision now to challenge the findings of the 10-member NGT-constituted panel in respect of the decision pertaining to the Benaulim stretch.
“We welcome the recommendation of the expert panel to build the Seraulim-Mungul stretch of the bypass on stilts. But, we firmly believe the Benaulim stretch passing through wetlands and water bodies ought to be also built on stilts,” she said, adding she has drawn up plans even to knock on the doors of the Supreme Court.
Gram sabha member Rudolf Barretto said the villages will participate in a major signature campaign to take 10,000 signatures before a memorandum is sent to the PMO’s office to sanction funds and build the bypass on stilts.
Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas said he has called for a meeting with the Water Resources Department officials since the villagers have noticed mistakes in the calculations vis-Ã -vis rainwater in the catchment areas. “All the villagers, including the panchayat, have vowed to work together and ensure the bypass passing through Benaulim is built on stilts. We will also call on the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and other ministers to reconsider the decision to build the bypass on stilts. The villages have vowed to go back to the court,” he added.
