the goan I network
MARGAO
The gram sabha of Curtorim panchayat on Sunday firmly opposed government move to hand over one lakh square meters of the leprosy hospital land to the police department to set up a India Reserve Battalion (IRB) camp.
The sabha also resolved to impose a ban on the single use of plastic in the jurisdiction of the village panchayat.
The controversial issue of the leprosy hospital land dominated the gram sabha chaired by Sarpanch Rui Menezes as members vehemently opposed any plan to hand over the land to the police department.
During discussions, members including former panchayat member J Santan Rodrigues pointed out that the government had in the past turned down the request of the panchayat to allot small portion of the land for waste sorting.
Santan and other members questioned the rationale of the government behind the decision to set up the IRB camp at Curtorim when it can come up anywhere in the state.
The members demanded that the leprosy hospital land should be reserved for public utility projects beneficial for the village as a whole.
Sarpanch Rui informed the gram sabha that the government did not take the panchayat into confidence before taking the decision.
He said the local body came to know of the government decision only when it had asked the latter to allot land for garbage sorting.
Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco assured the gram sabha members that he too is not in favor of the IRB camp on the leprosy hospital land.
He said ex-CM late Manohar Parrikar had promised him to scrap the IRB camp from coming up at Curtorim, but ultimately decided to hand over the land to the police department.
Saying he has discussed the issue with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, Reginaldo told the gram sabha members that he has impressed upon the duo to utilize the land for public utility projects benefiting the local populace.
Meanwhile, the gram sabha also discussed letter written by Power Minister Nilesh Cabral regarding the proposal for taking over public streetlights by the electricity department and levy of public lighting duty.
The sarpanch said the letter will be placed before the body meeting for a decision.
