MARGAO
The burning garbage problem and the issue of handing over the playground at Dicarpale to the local Church for maintenance dominated the Davorlim-Dicarpale gram sabha on Sunday.
The meeting chaired by Sarpanch Beena Kulkarni saw members turning up with placards and photographs of the garbage menace plaguing the village. They demanded an immediate solution to the issue, while at the same time decrying the contamination of water bodies and springs by the waste thrown by people.
Members reiterated their demand for a total stop to mega housing projects, saying these were the root cause of the garbage problem in the village. Submitting photographic evidence of how waste has devastated the fields, besides water bodies, members demanded concrete solution on the waste front.
Members led by Andrew Rebello confronted the sarpanch and the secretary on the issue, demanding to know the steps initiated by the panchayat to resolve the imbroglio. They alleged that instead of putting a stop to new mega housing projects, the incumbent panchayat body by majority has recently given occupancy certificate to a mega project in the village.
Incidentally, the meeting witnessed an uproar after the sarpanch pointed out that occupancy has been issued after an inspection and that the gram sabha members are free to approach the court for relief if they are not satisfied with the decision.
Andrew and other gram sabha members bitterly protested over the reply given by the sarpanch, saying that such an attitude will only spell doom for the village.
The issue of playground at Dicarpale generated much heat when majority of the gram sabha members demanded that the same be handed over to the local Church for maintenance. They pointed out that the ground will be available for the people of the village, including members of all the three communities.
The proposal was questioned by a lady gram sabha member. Sarpanch Kulkarni, however, calmed down the situation by saying the panchayat would first try to get possession of the ground from the government before taking any further action.
The issue of the pathetic condition of the lone spring in the village was raised by gram sabha members, demanding that the panchayat use its funds for the beautification of the water body. They pointed out that the panchayat should take the initiative if other government departments are not ready to take up the beautification works.
