the goan I network
PANAJI
A group of citizens from Bardez on Monday came together to protest against the 46,000 square meter M/s Mahindra Holiday Homes project on the banks of river Assonora, pointing out that sewage
from the project will pollute the river.
Addressing a press conference in the city on Monday, residents Julio Aguiar, John Mendonca, Vincent Pinto, Prudente Noronha and Robert Colaco requested the Chief Minister to put a stop to the project, which is already 70-80% complete.
The residents have already taken the matter to court, and it is likely to come up for hearing in the next couple of days, they said.
Meanwhile, residents are upset that the 244-room project with a
572-seater restaurant is in violation of existing laws including the Regional Plan 2021, the Command Irrigation area, and No Development Zone.
Residents also said that many ministries had flouted rules and regulations to give permission to the project. These ministries include the Town and Country Planning (TCP) ministry, Panchayat, PWD, Irrigation Department, and Environment Department, they said.
“Once operational, the sewage will contaminate the river and affect a population of around four lakh people. Eight panchayats i.e. Tivim, Sirsaim, Pirna, Revora, Assonora, Camurli, Porvorim and Saligao will be affected by the contaminated water,” Mendonca said.
The concerned residents said they have raised the issue at several fora including the gram sabhas. “We’ve raised the issue, but most people including the local MLA’s mouth has been taped,” Mendonca added. “People are scared to come out against M/S Mahindra because they have the means,” added Pinto. The residents feel that the court is their only hope.
Adjoining the project is a Water Treatment Plant (WTP) which releases water to eight panchayats. “Once the contaminated water from the river gets into the WTP, it will not only be distributed to thousands of homes, it will contaminate the ground water as well,” said Colaco.
Meanwhile, the residents opposing the project feel the people who will be badly affected are blinded by the promises of jobs. “The locals feel they will be given jobs in the Mahindra Holiday Homes project because they have been verbally assured of these. What they don’t realise is that only a handful of people will benefit, while lakhs of people will be suffer due to release of sewage,” Mendonca said.
The residents have also found out that while the resort will require 105 cubic meters of water a day, more than double of that or 225 cubic meters of sewage will be produced by them per day.
