Captured by : Vijai cutting a watermelon to mark the Salcete bio diversity board meeting. PIC: Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO: In an interesting development, TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai on Monday threw up a gauntlet at the Salcete MLAs to forge consensus amongst them on the question freezing development in the taluka, promising that the government is ready to freeze all development to save Salcete’s bio-diversity.
The Minister took the platform of the bio diversity board meeting at the district Collectorate here on Monday, which was attended by the taluka Sarpanchas, to announce the proposal of freezing development in Salcete and to take pot shots at the taluka ML
The Minister took the platform of the bio diversity board meeting at the district Collectorate here on Monday, which was attended by the taluka Sarpanchas, to announce the proposal of freezing development in Salcete and to take pot shots at the taluka ML
As who were conspicuous by their absence, barring Cuncolim MLA Clafacio Dias.
“Bio-diversity is the nucleus of the villages. If you feel that real estate development is killing the bio diversity, create an unanimity amongst yourself and pressurize your MLAs,” he said, saying the government is ready to enact an law to freeze development in Salcete for the next 10 years.
He said that Salcete can become a model by opting for freezing development, which can become a low density high cost taluka on the lines of towns in America where one cannot building ground plus one storey building in the neighbourhood of skyscrapers. “I am ready to freeze development in salcete to save bio diversity for posterity”, he added.
He directed his ire at the Salcete MLAs saying those some of the MLAs who took pledge at the Lohia Maidan to scrap the RP 21 were the ones who moved the cut motion demanding operationalization of the regional Plan. “They cannot speak in two voices. You cannot demand more FAR on the floor of the House and come to the Lohia Maidan and demand scrapping of the RP’, he said, adding that he is ready to circulate the CDs containing the speeches of the MLAs on the floor of the House.
“There’s an accusation that the Minister takes money to give approvals. I am ready to stop granting approvals if there is unanimity amongst the MLAs. This is my challenge, Barring Margao and Fatorda, which are urban areas, we are ready to freeze development in Salcete”, he told the Sarpanchas attending the bio diversity meeting.
Turning his ire on the Goa Bachao Abhiyan and Goencho Avaaz, the TCP Minister demanded to know where was the GBA and Avaaz when over one crore of orchard land across the state was illegally converted into settlement and sold as plots to migrants. “Was this not a big scam. But, I tried to stop the illegal conversion by bringing an amendment making TCP NOC mandatory to sell plots, they did not support us. When I revoked the license granted to Rahejas at Carmona, there was no support forthcoming from anyone”, he added.
“Bio-diversity is the nucleus of the villages. If you feel that real estate development is killing the bio diversity, create an unanimity amongst yourself and pressurize your MLAs,” he said, saying the government is ready to enact an law to freeze development in Salcete for the next 10 years.
He said that Salcete can become a model by opting for freezing development, which can become a low density high cost taluka on the lines of towns in America where one cannot building ground plus one storey building in the neighbourhood of skyscrapers. “I am ready to freeze development in salcete to save bio diversity for posterity”, he added.
He directed his ire at the Salcete MLAs saying those some of the MLAs who took pledge at the Lohia Maidan to scrap the RP 21 were the ones who moved the cut motion demanding operationalization of the regional Plan. “They cannot speak in two voices. You cannot demand more FAR on the floor of the House and come to the Lohia Maidan and demand scrapping of the RP’, he said, adding that he is ready to circulate the CDs containing the speeches of the MLAs on the floor of the House.
“There’s an accusation that the Minister takes money to give approvals. I am ready to stop granting approvals if there is unanimity amongst the MLAs. This is my challenge, Barring Margao and Fatorda, which are urban areas, we are ready to freeze development in Salcete”, he told the Sarpanchas attending the bio diversity meeting.
Turning his ire on the Goa Bachao Abhiyan and Goencho Avaaz, the TCP Minister demanded to know where was the GBA and Avaaz when over one crore of orchard land across the state was illegally converted into settlement and sold as plots to migrants. “Was this not a big scam. But, I tried to stop the illegal conversion by bringing an amendment making TCP NOC mandatory to sell plots, they did not support us. When I revoked the license granted to Rahejas at Carmona, there was no support forthcoming from anyone”, he added.
----------------------------------------- POT-SHOT AT ACTIVISTS Turning his ire on the Goa Bachao Abhiyan and Goencho Avaaz, the TCP Minister demanded to know where was the GBA and Avaaz when over one crore of orchard land across the state was illegally converted into settlement and sold as plots to migrants |
