PANAJI
The Goa Legislative Assembly on Tuesday took cognisance of the destruction of cultivable khazan lands due to the incursion of saline waters and Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik assured affirmative action through the Soil Conservation Cell to strategically plan and execute repairs of the protective bundhs.
The issue was raised through a calling attention motion by Aldona MLA Carlos Alvares Ferreira, who listed at least four bundhs in his Aldona constituency which needed urgent repairs but were being delayed over jurisdictional technicalities between the soil conservation cell of the Agriculture Department and the Water Resources Department.
Ferreira said not only were the paddy fields being affected, but domestic wells in homes were also getting contaminated by the saline intrusion.
Several other legislators, including Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva, Revolutionary Goans' Viresh Borkar, Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, Goa Forward Party's (GFP) Vijai Sardesai and the ruling BJP's Kedar Naik and Premendra Shet, also raised issues of breached bundhs affecting agricultural activity in khazans in their respective constituencies.
Viegas and Lourenco urged the Agriculture minister to ensure that priority is given to repairs of bundhs protecting khazans where cultivation is being done. They alleged that influential politicians were pulling strings to get priority for repairs of bundhs which protect their private land holdings while genuine farmers were getting neglected.
Borkar said that in his St Andre constituency, large tracts of Khazans in the Mandur-Azzosim area were inundated with saline water for years because of a nexus of the tenants association and pisciculture lobby. He said the revenue department has to set things right first with mamlatdars bringing in some co-ordination and discipline among the various tenants associations.
Naik in his reply to the motion said all the issues raised by the members will be noted by officers of his department and repairs of the bundhs will be taken up in a planned and strategic manner.
