PORVORIM
The gram sabha of Salvador do Mundo, held on Sunday in the panchayat hall, was marked by chaos and commotion. Heated exchanges occurred between the villagers and Sarpanch Bindiya Naik over the issue of hill cutting in Paithona under survey no 155/1.
As the Sarpanch was unable to address the villagers’ queries, she abruptly declared, “the meeting is over,” and left the hall without completing the agenda, leaving the villagers frustrated. The other members and the panchayat secretary followed her.
Sarpanch Naik had welcomed the gathering, and later, Panchayat Secretary Dhamesh Khorjuvekar read out the minutes of the last gram sabha meeting.
The discussion became heated when the issue of hill cutting was raised. Villagers wanted to know on what basis the construction licence was issued to the builder for constructing villas in survey no. 511/1.
Former Sarpanch and panch member Roshni Sawaikar mentioned that the panchayat had received a file from the Town and Country Planning Department approving the project, leading the panchayat to issue the construction licence. She added that all nine panchayat members agreed to the licence issuance.
Panch Sandeep Salgaonkar clarified that he and three of his colleagues agreed to issue the construction licence because the project was submitted by a local person. They were unaware that the project involved extensive hill cutting. He criticised the ruling group panch members for failing to conduct a site inspection before granting the licence, saying the panchayat was fully responsible for the oversight.
Marina Moraes pointed out that extensive hill cutting was also taking place in the Salem and Kitla areas, accusing the panchayat of being too lenient in granting construction licences and ignoring the villagers’ concerns.
Overwhelmed by the barrage of questions, Sarpanch Naik suddenly stood up, announced that the meeting was over, and walked out of the hall without completing the agenda. This attitude left the villagers deeply upset, with many demanding her resignation if she could not handle the responsibilities of her position.
