MARGAO
As hundreds of candidates battle out for supremacy at the grass-root democratic institutions for the August 10 panchayat elections, another battle of sorts is on the cards “ Goa Panchayat Raj Act versus Goa Telecom Infrastructure Policy on mobile towers constructions.
Candidates vying for the honours may suddenly realize whether they if elected, and the panchayats they represent will have any say in matters of construction of mobile towers in the villages.
For, while powers to issue construction license falls in the domain of the panchayat bodies, the new Goa Telecom Infrastructure Policy has mooted exactly the opposite, taking away powers of the village panchayats or any other authority, except the PWD for installing mobile towers.
How the new panchayat members will address the issues remains to be seen, with the panchas and the panchayats becoming the first target of people opposing mobile towers in the villages.
Information Technology Director in correspondence has said the Goa Telecom Policy makes it clear that no other permission is contemplated from village panchayat or any other authority except PWD in Goa for installing mobile towers.
That the government has started implementing the telecom policy is evident by the fact that mobile towers are now proposed to be erected on government property owned by the Education Department, PWD, Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) et al sans panchayat nod.
A circular issued by the government has revealed that all the concerned ADEIs of education department, Panchayat Block Development Officers, Sports Authority Goa officials have been told to create awareness programmes on Goa Telecom Policy and radiation to the general public in their respective locations.
A couple of candidates contesting the ensuing polls for the Guirdolim panchayat realized to their shock that the local body now has no power to stop the mobile tower construction.
This became evident when people complained that a mobile tower has come up at the Chandor police outpost complex without a nod from the panchayat.
When a group of persons led by former sarpanch Agostinho Antao called on the panchayat secretary, they were told in clear terms that the panchayat’s nod is not required in respect of mobile towers with the new Goa Telecom Policy in force.
“How can the Telecom Policy take away the basic powers of the panchayats to issue construction licenses. A construction license from the local panchayat is mandatory even for small constructions. Now, the panchayat secretary says he is required to go by the circular issued by the Salcete BDO. How are the new panchas supposed to go about the job when the people will hold the local panch and the panchayat responsible for the mobile towers,” Antao wondered while terming the Goa Telecom Policy as unconstitutional taking away the powers of the panchayats.
Incidentally, correspondence sent by the IT department has asked all the concerned heads of the department to give due weightage to the strict implementation of Goa Telecom Policy 2020.
The correspondence states that no third party will be allowed to take the law into their hands and stop the construction of the mobile towers, warning of strict action by the appropriate authority against anyone trying to do so.
The correspondence further states that the police department, both North and South Goa, shall ensure there is no unlawful assembly to stop the mobile construction work and initiate action to restrain people obstructing the work.
P’YAT SECRETARIES TOLD TO GO THROUGH
MINUTES OF MEET HELD AT SECRETARIAT
MARGAO:
Salcete Block Development Officer Amitesh A Shirvoikar has directed all the village panchayat secretaries to go through the contents of the minutes of the meeting held in the Secretariat on May 28 for strict implementation of the Goa Telecom Infrastructure Policy.
In a memorandum dated July 14, 2022, the Salcete BDO invited the attention of the village panchayat secretaries to the memorandum issued to the Directorate of Panchayats in respect of the minutes dated June 6, 2022, of the Director, Information and Technology on the subject.
Four controversial mobile towers coming up in Velim constituency
MARGAO
As many as four controversial mobile towers are coming up in the Velim constituency without the nod from the local panchayats.
If the villagers of Sao Jose de Areal hit the streets earlier this week to oppose a mobile tower in a government primary school complex sans Panchayat nod, three more towers are being proposed at Assolna at the government school complex, another at Dramapur on PWD land and the fourth one at Chinchinim on PWD land.
What’s interesting to note is that while the towers are being built as per the Goa Telecom Infrastructure Policy on government land, citizens are knocking on the doors of the MLAs seeking their intervention to stop the work.
MLA Cruz pointed out that the MLAs, panchayats and the people are kept in the dark over the mobile towers.
“I am told that the policy mandates the cellular company to hold awareness amongst the locals, but we have found the towers are being built at the dead of night and by misguiding the people,” he said.
He added: “People are not opposed to the towers per se. All they are demanding is to install them away from residential areas. Now, they are bulldozing with the towers since they are all coming up in government properties.”
