DEMANDING ANSWERS: Saligao residents attend the gram sabha at the panchayat hall on Sunday, where concerns over transparency in construction projects and civic amenities dominated the proceedings.
MAPUSA
Villagers of Saligao questioned the panchayat’s decision to undertake construction of a new panchayat ghar without taking residents or the Village Development Committee (VDC) into confidence, alleging a lack of transparency in the project.
Raising the issue at the gram sabha, local resident Liberata Madeira pointed out that neither the villagers nor the VDC had been informed about the construction and that the panchayat had also failed to display the building plan for public scrutiny.
“Besides not informing the villagers and the VDC about the construction of the panchayat ghar, the panchayat has failed to display any plan of the construction,” Madeira said.
Facing questions over the manner in which the project was initiated, Sarpanch Lucas Remedios assured the gram sabha that the construction plan would be displayed on the panchayat notice board.
The gram sabha also expressed concern over the possibility of worsening water scarcity in the coming months in view of inadequate rainfall in the State.
Madeira pointed out that residents were already experiencing water shortages and sought to know what measures the panchayat proposed to ensure an adequate and regular water supply if the situation deteriorated further.
Responding to the concern, Remedios said the panchayat would take up the matter with PWD officials and discuss measures to ensure regular water supply to the village.
The maintenance of the recently beautified and illuminated Saligao circle was another issue that came up for discussion. Villagers sought clarity on who would be responsible for its upkeep and who would bear the recurring expenditure.
The sarpanch informed the gram sabha that the maintenance of the circle, including its artificial and plastic decorations, would be undertaken by the Tourism Department and that no panchayat funds would be utilised for the purpose.
The functioning of the Saligao health centre also came under scrutiny, with villagers highlighting difficulties faced by patients, particularly senior citizens, in obtaining blood reports.
Residents said senior citizens were often forced to make repeated visits to the health centre to collect their reports and called for a mechanism to ensure that reports were made available without causing unnecessary inconvenience.
The villagers also demanded an ambulance facility for the health centre, pointing out that patients requiring emergency medical attention often face long waiting periods for the 108 ambulance service to arrive.
