Chief Minister Pramod Sawant during a meeting with Pernem MLA Pravin Arlekar, officials and panchayat members from Pernem taluka.
PERNEM
Reiterating that the Mopa International Airport would contribute significantly towards the economy of the State and nation, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said the government would not ignore the sacrifices of people from Mopa and surrounding villages in handing over their land for the airport project.
He assured that people from Pernem taluka would get maximum benefit from the Mopa Airport project.
The chief minister was addressing a special meeting with officials and panchayat members from Mopa and surrounding villages at the Ravindra Bhavan in Sakhali, to discuss issues pertaining to land acquisition, employment at the airport and business opportunities associated with the airport project.
The meeting was attended by Pernem MLA Pravin Arlekar, Chief Secretary, North Goa Collector, GMR CEO R V Sheshan, government officials and elected representatives from Pernem taluka.
The panchayat members claimed that people who had been affected by the project were unhappy as there had been no compensation for the land acquired, there had been no jobs offered to the unemployed youth in the area and no business opportunities had been made available to them. They said these uncertainties had led to anger and protests among the public in Pernem.
The Chief Minister directed officers concerned to address their grievances and instructed the District Collector to issue certificates to those whose land had been acquired for the airport project.
Taxi business to get priority: CM
Sawant directed GMR CEO R V Sheshan to offer business opportunities to those taxi owners and drivers from the five panchayats, whose land has been acquired for the airport project.
It was decided that those who are enthusiastic to start taxi business would also get accommodated in the future.
Apart from people from the five panchayats, taxi operators from the neighbouring panchayats and constituencies would also be accommodated in the taxi business in future, assured Sawant.
A decision to send a list of those who are already in the taxi business to the chief minister was taken in the meeting and this list would be prepared by the respective panchayats.
94 trainees in skill development centres
At present, 94 students are being trained at the airport transport skill development centres and all these trainees are from Pernem taluka, as per claims by the GMR company.
However, the names of these trainees have not been provided by the company so far and some present at the meeting expressed their displeasure on this issue.
Sawant directed the GMR to give all the panchayats a detailed description of various jobs to be created at Mopa Airport site in the coming months.
Legal assistance camps to be conducted
Local leaders claimed that only 15% of people who have lost their land to the Mopa Airport project have, so far, received compensation, while the remaining 85% are still to be paid compensation.
They said people are unaware of the process to prepare documents to receive the compensation and are compelled to spend a lot of money during repeated visits to advocates.
As a remedy, the land acquisition officer Chandrakant Shetkar has been directed to organise camps every month in the five panchayats surrounding Mopa airport, to offer legal advice to the displaced people.
It was also decided that matters pertaining to the Mopa Airport, Link Road, and land acquisition for the national highway should also be dealt through these legal assistance camps.
GMR to support removal of mud from fields
Elected representatives claimed that a large amount of soil from the Mopa Airport site has flowed into the fields, making land unusable for cultivation.
The chief minister directed the GMR officials to provide support to the panchayats to remove the accumulated soil. It was decided that the company would pay for the expenses of a machine and its driver.
“Wherever mud has accumulated and the land has become infertile, efforts would be taken to remove the mud and bring the land back under cultivation,” said Dr Sawant, while directing the company to assist the farmers.
