PANAJI
Around 50 villagers from Cumbharjua on Thursday complained to the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs (DSYA) of illegal hill cutting on government village school playground.
The group, headed by BJP village head Siddhesh Naik, met with the director and demanded that the department, who were owners of the land measuring 32,000 sq mtrs, take action against the local MLA Pandurang Madkaikar.
“There is blatant, illegal and criminal act of excavation of mud and hill cutting on government village school playground at Cumbharjua. The MLA has excavated over 30,000 cubic mtrs of mud and illegally used it elsewhere,” he said.
Director of the DSYA, V M Prabhudesai informed the group that he would personally pay a visit to the area and take stock of the situation and also initiate action in the next eight days.
Naik said if there was nothing done in the next eight days, the locals would approach Vigilance department. A memorandum signed by the locals said the land had initially been acquired for the purpose of building a playground.
“Excluding 9,000 sq mtrs, the major part of the land is a hillock. On January 15, 2013, Madkaikar applied to DSYA seeking permission to level the said school playground,” said a memo sent to the director. The permission was given in February that year.
They claim the MLA along with the village sarpanch criminally conspired to secure permission for the land and excavate mud.
