PANAJI
The government's proposal for an IT park in Chimbel appears to be at loggerheads with the general consensus in the village on the alternative uses of the land.
While the government intends to boost Goa’s IT industry by setting up an IT park in Chimbel, villagers feel that it would serve the people better if this land was divided into smaller plots and offered to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC) communities from the village for cultivation and accommodation.
Speaking to The Goan, Chimbel Manch vice-president, Gurudas Shirodkar, said that the ST and SC communities, which are overwhelmingly agrarian in nature, constitute around 90 per cent of Chimbel's population. Both the communities currently face a dearth of residential area within the village.
“After opposing the 2011 proposal of setting up a health city atop Kadamba plateau, we had demanded that the entire stretch should be divided into plots of 200 sq mts each, to be given to the poorer locals,” Shirodkar said.
Chimbel deputy secretary, Chandrakant Kuncolkar, confirmed this demand and recalled that almost 200 applications from SCs and STs were received for plots of land.
“But the demand has risen to 1,000 sq mts by now. It is a rocky stretch of land, inhospitable for cultivation. Besides, the rates of the land will be around Rs 20,000 per sq mt at present, considering that real estate projects have mushroomed in the vicinity,” he pointed out.
On condition of anonymity, a panch from Chimbel Panchayat disclosed that most locals are unaware of the technical hurdles in fulfilling their demands.
“It is government-owned land and the procedure to redirect this land towards fulfilling such demands is cumbersome,” said the panch.
The draft IT policy has proposed setting up the IT park on an area of 4,54,025 sq mts atop the Kadamba plateau. Subsequently, 2.80 lakh sq mtrs of land received government nod and was transferred from the Directorate of Heath Services to the IT department in September.
Venting out their anxiety over the use of scarce land resources in Chimbel, gram sabha members have opposed the proposed IT park atop Kadamba plateau on three previous occasions. Other proposed mega projects like the AYUSH national institute and ESI hospital have also failed to garner support.
Meanwhile, the lack of basic infrastructure continues to haunt Chimbel.
Chimbel Manch secretary, Tukaram Cuncolienkar, highlighted the need for a larger primary health centre for the village and for a dedicated waste management facility to cater to the growing population of Chimbel.
“Land is being diverted in the name of development without taking us into confidence. Chimbel’s primary health centre functions from a rented room in an old age home. Besides, there is barely any facility to dispose of garbage in Chimbel,” Cuncolienkar stated.
Apart from the infrastructural requirement for health services, waste management and residential facilities, the villagers have constantly requested the government to provide space for the village school and a playground.
These demands may gain ground by the end of December, when the State's IT policy is likely to be finalized.
