MARGAO
If the people of Sirvodem claim they were kept in the dark over the proposal to set up the kabrastan in their backyard, could politicos blame them for opposing the project?
The kabrastan proposal mooted at Sirvodem locality adjoining the river Sal was kept as a closely guarded secret from day one ever since the Margao Municipal Council adopted a resolution to acquire the land admeasuring 15,000 square meters a little over a year ago.
Otherwise, consider this. The MMC headed by Chairperson Babita Prabhudesai had proposed acquisition of the land in question in January 2018 without unveiling the exact purpose for which it was sought to be acquired.
In fact, the civic body had all along insisted that the land in question is only being acquired for “multi-utility services for the public” without specifying the nature of these services.
The MMC Chairperson had at that time wasn’t very clear on the nature of the multi-utility services, or was trying to confuse the people on the purpose behind acquiring the huge chunk of land. A glance at Babita’s statements made in January, 2018 on the MMC’s objective behind acquiring the land showed she initially stated that the decision has been taken in view of the haphazard development taking place in and around Khareband-Sirvodem area.
At one point, Babita had stated that the land in question falls close to the ring road, but was quick to correct herself by saying it is located close to the western bypass, without realizing that the western bypass passes through Benaulim to Navelim over the River Sal after the Karle property.
What’s interesting to note is that one had heard nothing about the multi-utility project for a year now before the TCP Minister just a week ago announced the government’s grant of Rs 15.16 crore to set up the kabrastan in the very land sought to be acquired by the Margao municipality.
It is still unclear why the Margao Municipal Council mysteriously backed out of the project to acquire the land in question and the government’s decision to rope in the Town and Country Planning department to acquire land for the project.
That’s not all. Even the government’s order sanctioning capital grant of Rs 15.16 crore to the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) with a condition that the SGPDA exclusively uses the capital grant for the proposed land acquisition, also does not speak anything about the proposed kabrastan with the order only stating that grant is sanction for the multi-utility project.
The order states as follows: “The capital grant shall be utilized exclusively for the proposed land acquisition in Chalta No 7 of P T Sheet No 258 at Margao and Survey No 203/1 and 203/4 of Navelim village for the purpose of multi utility services for the public by following the codal formalities as applicable and also policy on procurement of land under Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency In Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 for direct procurement of land to set up public purposes projects.”
