Crucial Salcete gram sabhas deferred amid model code

File photo of the Colva beach master plan scheduled to come up for discussions at the Sunday gram sabha of Colva panchayat.

MARGAO
With the Model Code of Conduct coming into force, gram sabha meetings and other panchayat programmes are all expected to come to a halt from Sunday.

Gram sabhas scheduled on Sunday will be the first casualty as the office of the Director of Panchayats have conveyed to the Block Development Officers to send messages to the panchayats to postpone and reschedule the gram sabhas lining up during the election code till the conduct of the Zilla Panchayat polls on December 20.

In fact, Panchayat Director Madhav Arondekar has told The Goan that all gram sabhas convened by the panchayat bodies from Sunday onwards till the ZP polls scheduled on December 20 will have to be rescheduled. He said his office has conveyed a message to the BDOs to ensure that no gram sabhas are held when the Model Code of Conduct remains in force.

In Salcete alone, three gram sabhas are scheduled on Sunday, including the gram sabha of the Village Panchayat of Colva, which has been called to deliberate and discuss the crucial Colva beach master plan under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (Coastal Circuit) plan. Besides Colva, the village panchayats of Curtorim and Macazana had convened their gram sabhas on Sunday.

The Colva gram sabha assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of that the Tourism Department had displayed the Colva beach master plan at the Colva panchayat library hall. In fact, officials of the Tourism Department were supposed to attend the Sunday gram sabha to explain to the villagers and the gram sabha members the salient features of the Colva beach master plan.

Social and environmental activist Judith Almeida said though the panchayat is required to reschedule the gram sabha with the coming into force of the Model Code of Conduct, she demanded that the rescheduled gram sabha is held at the earliest after the Zilla Panchayat polls. “We have not received any information yet over the postponement or rescheduling of the Sunday gram sabha. Hence, we will go to the panchayat on Sunday morning to know the decision of the panchayat body,” Judith said.

The social and environmental activist along with local fishermen community were scheduled to attend the Sunday gram sabha and participate in the discussions on the Colva beach master plan to ensure that the lives and livelihoods of the fishing communities as well as the local tourism stakeholders are not distributed or destroyed by the master plan.

Sources pointed out that the activists were also scheduled to raise questions to ascertain whether the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has granted permission for the projects listed on the Colva beach master plan on the plea that a couple of projects fall within the CRZ zones.