VASCO
Residents of Chicalim have been invited by the Mormugao Planning and Development Authority (MPDA) for a personal hearing on Thursday regarding the draft Outline Development Plan 2030 (ODP 2030), which is under review by the planning authority.
The villagers will meet MPDA Member Secretary Ashok Kumar in this connection.
The MPDA had proposed to revise the ODP 2026 of the Vasco Planning Area with that of ODP 2030. It has sought suggestions and objections from respective stakeholders, including the panchayats and the villagers.
According to sources, hundreds of villagers from Chicalim have signed petitions to the MPDA member secretary, objecting to the proposed Draft ODP for Vasco Planning Area. Some villagers have gone to the extent of threatening legal action against the authority.
The Chicalim villagers have accused the MPDA of failing to protect the ‘Right to Life’ of the local villagers through sustainable town planning and development of their planning area.
The villagers, in writing, have pointed fingers at the member secretary, as the only technical expert in the planning body, of failing to put checks and countermeasures in place to provide residents of Chicalim with healthy, peaceful, and dignified living conditions.
For the first time, residents led by Fr Bolmax Pereira, the Chicalim Biodiversity Management Committee (CBMC) led by its Chairperson Rui Costa Araujo and the Chicalim Panchayat led by Sarpanch Sebastiao Pereira have accused the MPDA of faulty planning and non-application of mind and proposing an unsustainable development model for Chicalim.
The Chicalim Panchayat had earlier organised a joint consultation with residents and MPDA officials, with the member secretary participating in this exercise to ascertain public views.
During this interaction, human rights activist and local resident Cyril Fernandes gave a detailed presentation highlighting errors in the draft ODP and sought correction before finalisation.
The Panchayat then submitted suggestions signed by over 200 villagers, who had attended the consultation.
The CBMC also offered submissions and sought marking of all heritage sites as listed in the People’s Biodiversity Register of the village.
The villagers fear that the present Draft ODP 2030 does not bear any semblance of planning and on the contrary, exposes itself as an exercise without any logical development norms to allegedly satisfy the greed of a few.
