MARGAO
Tension rent the air at Sao Jose de Areal after angry villagers led by Sarpanch Joycee Dias, deputy Sarpanch Valent and others on Saturday stopped the land cutting underway at the Padribhat locality of the village.
The villagers have also called for a meeting of the villagers to discuss how to stop the ongoing the land cutting and protect the hill in question.
Heated arguments broke out between the agitated villagers and a transport contractor over the question of resumption of the land cutting at the site. Social activist Freddy Travasso and ex-Curtorim Zilla panchayat member Moreno Rebello also lent their support to the agitating villagers against the land cutting activity.
Sarpanch Joycee told the media at the site that the Panchayat has been trying to stop the land cutting at the site for the last 10 days. She pointed out that the TCP insisted that the land owner has the requisite permissions, but hastened to add the TCP has so far failed to measure the extent of land cutting.
The TCP is a technical body, while the Panchayat is a local body. They say the Sarpanch and Panchayat have no power in the matter. When such a massive land cutting is being undertaken, do they expect the panchayat, the elected representatives and the people to remain silent?” she said.
Ex-Curtorim ZP member Moreno Rebello made an appeal to the TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane to revoke the permission, if at all given to the owner for land cutting. “We have to protect the hill. The hill is already damaged. People have only asked the owner and the land developer to stop the activity during the intervening holidays for the reason what one cannot restore the hill once it is razed down”, he said.
Moreno directed his ire at the developer for resuming the work on Friday when the people have told him to stop the work till December 20 in order to verify the facts.
“How they are carrying out the work we do not know, when the Panchayat says no NOC has been granted by the body”, he added.
The ward member said the villagers will now take up the matter since the developer has not agreed to stop the work. “Has the TCP the right to give the permission by ignoring the Panchayat body”, the ward member questioned.
The land developer, on the other hand, insisted the owner is not involved in any hill cutting activity, further saying that no norms have been violated by the owners. “If we were illegal, the panchayat would have stayed our work, but they are forcefully trying to stop our work”, the developer said.
He added that the owner has the requisite permissions from the TCP, further saying the flying squad report is clear in its saying there’s no hill cutting. “Despite all this, the Panchayat members have accused us for hill cutting. We had made a letter to the Panchayat, but there is no reply till date”, he said.
Meanwhile, social activist Freddy Travasso said that Areal villagers will be forced to form a human chain at the land cutting site with the owner and the land developer refusing to stop the work.
He also pointed out that the villagers are not violating any High Court order on the Western bypass, pointing out that the Court has not given any liberty to cut land for the purpose of land filling.
