PANAJI
Fearing that the government had ulterior motives behind the land acquisition plans around Savle spring, villagers from Pilerne have said they would oppose government plans of promoting buildings and constructions in the area.
Prakash Bandodkar, president of the Pilerne Citizens Forum, pointed fingers at the state government, accusing them of razing trees and hills in the name of tourism.
“We are not against the development of the spring for tourist activities, but why is the government promoting construction in the area around it, especially when the area is a orchard and hilly region?” he questioned.
The Department of Tourism in a letter to the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department in 2013 requested for an NOC for initiating land acquisition proceedings for 1,65,225 sq mts of land for the development of Savle Spring at Salve, Pilerne in Bardez. TCP on its part said that as per the Regional Plan 2001, the land was earmarked as being partly settlement and partly orchard, partly cultivated and partly under social forest.
Bandodkar, however, said the adjoining area bearing serial numbers 37, 197, 205, 206, 207, 208 and 211 were owned by real estate agents and that the area was already being used for construction. Locals have said that developing 50,000 sq mts of the spring itself needed to be undertaken, but to move to include the rest of the area smacked of a malicious intent behind the acquisition.
Regarding the opening of the Regional Plan Goa 2021, the Forum said they were against the government’s decision to receive suggestions only at the main TCP office, when in actuality the plan had to be given to respective panchayats for inspection.
“Though the government should have sent the plans to the panchayat for our suggestions and objections, we will still submit our opinions to the TCP head office. We have already prepared the letters and documents and will be submitting it soon,” said Bandodkar.
