A survey is conducted under heavy police protection at Kudchirem village on Thursday.
Photo Credits: The Goan
BICHOLIM
Tense moments prevailed at Kudchirem-Bicholim on Thursday when angry locals objected to a survey being conducted for a proposed construction and debris plant in the area.
A large police force was present at the site to maintain law and order and to enable the survey process.
According to sources, about 40,000 sq mtrs of land was reserved for a proposed construction and debris plant in Kudchirem sometime before 2019. The Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) is the nodal agency for the project.
On Thursday, a team from the GWMC along with Bicholim Mamlatdar Praveen Gawas had gone to the site in Kudchirem for a survey, when angry locals gathered in the area to oppose the project.
A large police force was sent to provide additional support to the police team accompanying the officials. Locals confronted the police and continued to object to the survey work.
Police then took some locals to the police station and they were later allowed to return to their villages. No complaint has been filled in the matter
Mayem MLA Premendra Shet rushed to the site and clarified to the aggrieved locals that this project is not a waste treatment plant.
Stating that the government would be mindful to the concerns of the people, Shet sought to reassure the people that they would not suffer in any, but promised that he would stand by the people and the village.
The survey then continued under the protection of a large police force.
Opposing locals should suggest another site: CM
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant chairs a meeting with Mayem MLA Premendra Shet and members of Maulinguem-Kudchirem panchayat.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has asked the residents of Kudchirem-Bicholim to suggest an alternative site for the proposed construction and debris plant if they were opposed to the present site allotted to the project.
Sawant was speaking to members of the Maulinguem-Kudchirem panchayat in the presence of Mayem MLA Premendra Shet when they called on him to discuss the concerns raised by locals of the village.
Sawant said the State government is ready to offer land to those leaseholders in the area where this project is being set up and asked them to submit their property documents. “If villagers are against the project at this site, they should suggest an alternative place,” said Sawant.
The chief minister also informed the panchayat members that no wet and dry waste will be brought to the site, as it would handle only demolished constructions and debris material.
