Packed gram sabha unanimously opposes move to reclassify village
ONE VOICE, ONE RESOLUTION: Moira villagers raise their hands in a unanimous show of support during the special Gram Sabha on Sunday, rejecting the government's proposal to grant urban status to the village.
MAPUSA
In a powerful show of unity and defiance, hundreds of residents of Moira on Sunday came together to unanimously reject the State government's proposal to reclassify the historic village as an urban area, warning that they would not hesitate to launch a legal challenge if the government attempts to push the move through.
The overwhelming opposition was voiced at a special Gram Sabha convened by the Moira Village Panchayat exclusively to discuss the government's decision to revisit its controversial proposal to notify Moira and 56 other villages as urban areas.
With the Panchayat hall unable to accommodate the unprecedented turnout, the meeting was shifted to the larger Moira Club hall, which too was packed to capacity with villagers determined to defend the village's rural identity. Sarpanch Sagar Naik presided over the meeting along with other Panchayat members.
The gathering passed a resolution firmly opposing any move to reclassify Moira, sending a clear message to the government that the village would resist the proposal "at any cost."
Residents recalled that a similar attempt by the government in 2020 to convert 56 villages into urban areas had met with fierce public opposition and was eventually withdrawn. At the time, the Moira Panchayat had also passed a resolution opposing the move.
Villagers expressed shock that the proposal has resurfaced after the Revenue Department recently informed the Directorate of Panchayats that the government had decided to revisit the issue and sought comments from the affected villages.
Former Sarpanch Prakash Raul drew loud applause when he questioned the government's intentions, pointing out that Revenue Minister Babush Monserrate had previously opposed the grant of urban status to his own village of Taleigao.
"How can he force this urban status on us when he himself did not want it for his village? We do not want an urban tag for Moira. We want our beautiful Moira to remain a village," Raul declared.
Aldona MLA Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira reminded villagers that Moira had already rejected the proposal six years ago and questioned why the government was now attempting to revive it.
"The government is trying to bring back the notification through the backdoor by calling it a revisiting exercise. There is no laid-down procedure and no data has been placed before the people to justify why Moira should be declared an urban area," Ferreira said.
He argued that such a move would primarily benefit builders, property developers, real estate interests and certain politicians while undermining the village's character and heritage.
"We must ensure that this evil plan is defeated. We have to challenge the government and stop this from happening," Ferreira told the gathering.
Earlier, local residents Vinita Coelho and Virgilia D'Sa made a detailed presentation highlighting what they described as the government's attempt to unilaterally push villages towards urbanisation without public consultation. They warned that the issue was part of a larger struggle to protect Goa's land, environment and village identity.
Describing the fight as one that extends beyond Moira, they urged villagers to join hands with wider people's movements across the State, including campaigns against indiscriminate development and land conversion.
Calling for sustained public mobilisation, they appealed to residents to raise their voices through public rallies, awareness campaigns and social media outreach to ensure that the proposal is defeated before it gains momentum.
The special Gram Sabha ended with a resounding message: Moira's residents are determined to preserve the village's rural character and will collectively oppose any attempt to impose urban status on the village.
