Loliem-Polem demand exclusion from private forests notification
Members ask govt to solve all pending forest issues first
THE GOAN NETWORK
CANACONA
The Loliem-Polem gram sabha unanimously resolved to write to the government not to consider their village for private forests notifications until all the previous issues pertaining to forests are resolved.
The special gram sabha on Sunday witnessed noisy scenes over the State government’s plans to notify more than 60 per cent of the village land as private forests. It was resolved to write to the government to first resolve all the forest issues, including reserved forest, some of which are pending over a period of two to three decades, before going ahead with village land notification under private forests.
The aggrieved members, right from questioning government's logic of issuing 427 notices earmarking private properties solely on the basis of Google map without undertaking any physical survey, to several earlier pending issues on reservation of forests for about 30 years, demanded to exclude their village from private forests notifications.
“This is not required and such repeated harassment of residents is uncalled for,” said gram sabha member and former sarpanch Ajay Lolienkar.
The villagers suggested forming a committee under the sarpanch to take up members' concerns with the government, particularly the forest department. However, Sarpanch Bhushan Prabhugaonkar flatly refused to head the committee saying he is already burdened with several other committees.
The members however, refused to form panchayat committee without a sarpanch heading it.
Former minister Isidore Fernandes was among the members who took part in the discussion and even flashed papers to show how the BJP government is fooling people by blaming previous governments on private forests.
The members also took objection to the late arrival of the talathi at the gram sabha and asked the land revenue representative to remain present as the forest department is utilising his services to issue notices to land owners.
Panchayat secretary Manjunath Gaonkar, Deputy Sarpanch Ashutosh Bandekar and all the panchas were present. No representative from BDO office was present.
