MAPUSA
In a desperate attempt to dissipate the anger amongst the locals, Calangute Sarpanch Shawn Martins on Monday called for an impromptu site inspection of the construction taking place near the chapel site at Gauravaddo East and later, the panchayat members unanimously resolved to issue a show-cause notice to the builder for obstructing access to the chapel.
Police also booked some labourers for blocking the public access while carrying out construction work at the chapel site.
However, the locals led by the Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) were unimpressed and requested the panchayat to stop the illegal activities at the chapel site and revoke the occupancy certificate issued to the starred hotel.
“The builder violated one of the clauses of the construction licence which is to maintain unobstructed access to the chapel. The panchayat body has therefore unanimously resolved to issue a show-cause to the builder over why his NOC should not be revoked,” Martins said.
“What they had done was unauthorized and that is why the panchayat took immediate action in the matter,” he added.
Earlier, the sarpanch and the panchayat members met in the panchayat office to attend a scheduled special meeting of the panchayat body.
The sarpanch informed the panchayat members that the local ward member Pooja Matkar had requested a site inspection of the blocked access to the chapel.
He then adjourned the meeting midway and headed to the chapel site to conduct the inspection.
The chapel committee members and other villagers who had gathered in front of the panchayat building were also asked to join the site inspection.
“When we went to the site we found a JCB stationed in the middle of the public road blocking the access to the chapel. I filed a police complaint against the construction activity and accordingly the workers were booked by the police,” the sarpanch informed.
He further informed that after the site inspection he reconvened the meeting of the panchayat members and tabled the inspection report before the panchayat body.
“The panchayat members unanimously decided to issue a show-cause notice to the builder for violating the terms and conditions of the construction licence,” he said.
In the meanwhile, the Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) along with the locals submitted a memorandum to the sarpanch requesting the panchayat to take necessary action to stop the illegal activities at the chapel site and revoke the occupancy certificate issued to the hotel project.
“If the panchayat fails to take action then the chapel committee along with CCF members and villagers of Calangute will agitate in front of the panchayat office until our demands are met,” said Premanand Diukar, President of CCF.
The memorandum stated that at least two such inspections were carried out by the panchayat along with the CCF members but no report was submitted.
The memorandum further said that despite objections raised by the chapel committee and the CCF members, the panchayat went ahead and issued an occupancy certificate to the hotel.
File for occupancy never placed at meeting: Panch
MAPUSA:
In another twist to the occupancy certificate imbroglio, Calangute panchayat member Sudesh Mayekar said the application of the hotel seeking the occupancy certificate was never placed at the panchayat body meeting held on June 9, 2021, and called for its revocation.
“As a panchayat member I was present for the panchayat body meeting held on June 9 and would like to state that the application for occupancy certificate for the hotel was not placed in the meeting for discussion,” Mayekar said, in a letter to the panchayat secretary.
He raised a strong objection against the issue in the letter and demanded that he should be issued a copy of the certificate if at all it was issued.
Incidentally, Sudesh Mayekar who was part of the ruling group in the panchayat has remained aloof from the group after he had a fallout with the local MLA.
CCF chief blames p’yat secretary for mess
MAPUSA
The President of Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF), Premanand Diukar blamed the panchayat secretary for all the mess happening in Calangute panchayat.
“Panchayat minutes are manipulated at random while there is huge misappropriation of panchayat funds. All this is happening under the tutelage of the panchayat secretary. We have sent several complaints to the Director of Panchayats against the secretary but no action is forthcoming,” Diukar alleged.
“We have no doubt in our minds that the panchayat secretary is enjoying political patronage,” he added.
He alleged that the occupancy certificate to the hotel project at Gauravaddo East has been issued dubiously as the hotel project was not yet complete and has not got clearance from the health, fire and other departments.
