Old Goa
Despite a candlelight rally against mega projects in Bambolim on Saturday, the Sunday gram sabha of Curca-Bambolim panchayat was expected to address the issue. However, this was not the case, as there was no mention of the projects due to low attendance.
The only proposal raised was by local Manguesh Kuttikar, who questioned the panchayat about how projects are approved based on proposed roads in the village. “Many projects are approved with road widths shown as 15 to 20 meters, but in reality, the roads are not even 10 meters wide,” Kuttikar said. He urged the panchayat to write to the TCP for an inspection of these projects.
Kuttikar also referred to a High Court order which prohibits the approval of projects based on proposed roads. In response, Sarpanch Diona Korgaonkar explained that the TCP handles project approvals, and the panchayat’s role is minimal. “We don’t have the technical expertise, and our role is minimal,” Korgaonkar said, adding that the panchayat would write to the TCP for inspection as suggested by Kuttikar.
Another issue discussed was the unauthorised operation of guest houses in the village. “Many residential projects have been converted into guest houses without approval,” said a local resident, urging the panchayat to survey the village to identify these unauthorised guest houses and have them registered.
Sarpanch Korgaonkar agreed and said she would ask the panchas to report any such guest houses to the panchayat.
Other topics covered included raising awareness on waste management and addressing plastic dumping in water bodies.
Meanwhile, when asked by The Goan, Adv Suresh Palkar explained that he could not submit a proposal on mega projects as he found out about the gram sabha too late.
“However, another villager had submitted a similar proposal. I was supposed to speak on mega projects, but ironically, the villager did not attend, and his proposal could not be discussed,” Palkar added.
