OLD GOA
The Chimbel locals unanimously opposed the Goa Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill and demanded scrapping of the same to protect the interest of Goans.
At a largely attended special gram sabha in the panchayat on Sunday, the locals cited the increasing number of migrants in Chimbel who have encroached on government as well as private land and opined that this bill is meant to appease these migrants ahead of the Assembly elections.
“This bill will benefit mostly migrants as many of them have encroached on government and private land in Chimbel. They have been granted house numbers, they have electricity and water connections which will make them eligible for ownership of the encroached land under the Bhumiputra Bill,” a local Ajay Kholkar opined while citing his objections to the bill.
Another local pointed out that an owner in whose property the encroachment is done will not be able to approach any court of law for justice as the bill overrides all courts.
Earlier, the locals objected to the addition of supplementary works in the GPDP under the 15th finance commission, as they said the works already proposed need to be taken up first.
“When works proposed earlier have not been taken up, there is no need to take up new works. Use the funds for execution of the works which need priority,” another local Avinash Shirvoikar stated.
Meanwhile, the locals also took the panchayat to task over the low-quality drain slabs being used for covering drains in the village.
“On a regular basis, the drain slabs are breaking which shows that the quality is poor,” the locals pointed out.
