MARGAO
Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar is expected to unveil his course of action over the failure and delay on the part of the village panchayats in Salcete and Mormugao to accord permissions to erect mobile towers ahead of the BRICS summit, even as Pune-based M/s Indus Towers on Monday maintained that it had still not received any approvals in writing from the village panchayats of these two talukas.
Sources in the know said Chief Minister will preside over a meeting with senior government officials on Tuesday, wherein the question of mobile towers is expected to dominate. Director of Panchayats, Gurudas Pilarnekar, who had last week issued directions to the 18 village panchayats is expected to brief the government on the contentious issue.
Though the Panchayat Director had issued directions to the 18 village panchayats to grant NOCs for permanent and temporary erection of mobile towers, no written NOCs had come to the Pune-based agency till date.
An official of M/s Indus Towers told The Goan that though some of the panchayats at their gram sabhas and body meetings have approved the towers, both temporary and permanent, the agency is yet to receive the NOCs.
Left with no option, the agency is expected to again knock the doors of the government today or on Tuesday since time is running out with the BRICS summit less than 20 days away.
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, during his meeting with sarpanchas of coastal Salcete last week, had dropped enough hints that the government would intervene and overrule the objections, if any, for the mobile towers.
Sources in the know said the cellular operators have sought permissions from the 11 panchayats from Salcete to erect 41 mobile towers, including nine towers in Benaulim village, which will be hosting the BRICS summit along with the coastal village of Cavelossim.
