Newly elected Santa Cruz Sarpanch Edwin Dias along with supporting panchas and Santa Cruz ZP member Shiney Oliveira. Captured by : Manuel Vaz
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The Santa Cruz panchayat got its seventh sarpanch, and probably the last, in the current term as Edwin Dias was elected unopposed at a special meeting in the panchayat on Wednesday.
However, Dias wasted no time in targeting his predecessor and said the earlier sarpanch had tried to use comunidade land to set up the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) without permission from the comunidade, prompting them to move a no-confidence motion against her.
But when questioned what difference would he make as there is hardly a month-and-half left before panchayat elections are held, Dias said he did not want to talk on that.
“First, I will undertake development and then I will talk,” he said.
To another question on the high court directives on the Santa Cruz VP for failing to set up the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in the village, Dias said the panchayat will work unitedly to find a solution to the issue.
“We are going to ensure that the environment is not destroyed when setting up the MRF and everybody is taken into confidence,” he added.
Other panchas present included Namdev Naik, Lawrence Rodrigues, Lafira Oliveira, Disha Kavlekar, Shilpa Bandokar and Nilesh Kankonkar. Santa Cruz ZP member Shiney Oliveira was also present. However, Deputy Sarpanch Indira Fernandes was absent even as the panel claimed the support of the ZP member and former MLA Tony Fernandes.
