VASCO
Chaos prevailed at the general body meeting of the Sancoale Panchayat on Friday, following the panchayat’s decision to seek legal opinion on the reply to the show-cause notice issued to Bhutani Infra.
The absence of the Sarpanch in the 11-member panchayat and a heated exchange between ruling and opposition panch members led to an uproar, with residents and activists voicing their frustration over the delay in resolving the issue.
The meeting, which began at about 10.30 am and chaired by Deputy Sarpanch Derick Vales, had an unusually large turnout of locals and activists from various parts of Goa, all eager to hear the Panchayat’s decision on the controversial Bhutani construction project.
Although it was expected that the Bhutani issue would be prioritised, it was instead placed under the “any other” category and it came up for discussion last.
After three-and-half hours of routine agenda discussions, the Bhutani issue was finally raised at around 2 pm, much to the dismay of those patiently awaiting a discussion on the topic. By then, only five panchas were present at the meeting.
The panchayat began reading out the lengthy reply submitted by Bhutani Infra.
According to panch members, the reply was filled with legal jargon, making it difficult to comprehend. Furthermore, it reportedly included allegations of bribery and blackmail against some panch members.
“We are not experts in legal matters, and the language in the reply was complicated,” said Deputy Sarpanch Derick Vales.
“That’s why we decided it would be best to seek legal advice from two advocates before taking any further steps.”
However, opposition members and the public grew increasingly frustrated, demanding that the Panchayat revoke Bhutani’s construction license immediately.
“They don’t have the necessary clearances like environment clearance and NOC from the water department,” alleged Panch member Tulshidas Naik.
The situation escalated when two opposition members threatened to quit the meeting to break the quorum, preventing the Panchayat from adopting a decision to seek legal opinion.
Despite the tension, the ruling members declared the meeting over and left the venue, leaving residents and opposition members fuming.
“We requested that this issue be taken up first so people could go home, but the meeting was stretched for hours. When the Bhutani issue finally came up, they chose to walk out rather than revoke the license,” said Naik.
Naik criticised the ruling panel for their actions, stating, "the Panchayat had already said they would revoke the license if Bhutani didn’t have valid approvals, but they walked out instead of taking action.”
Despite the opposition’s objections, the ruling panel maintained their stance.
“We completed the meeting as per the agenda and discussed the Bhutani show-cause notice,” Vales said.
“There are certain points in the reply that we are not qualified to address, so we decided to seek legal advice. The meeting was completed, and the opposition was present throughout,” maintained Vales.
