Villagers oppose Electricity Department’s plan, seek protection of comunidade land and raise concerns over delays in RTI responses
MAPUSA
Villagers of Verla-Canca have unanimously opposed the installation of smart electricity meters in residential homes, with the gram sabha passing a resolution rejecting the initiative proposed by the Electricity Department.
The issue was raised by local resident Lincoln Braganza, who had requested the panchayat to organise an awareness session for villagers on the proposed smart meter project.
Braganza said villagers needed clarity on the scheme’s benefits, limitations, working features and concerns related to billing, privacy and consumer rights before any decision was made.
However, according to him, the gram sabha approved a resolution opposing smart meters without holding a discussion on the matter.
“We had asked for a discussion on the issue, but the sarpanch and panchayat members said that we do not require smart meters and passed a resolution opposing their installation,” Braganza said.
Sarpanch Nicole Marques, Deputy Sarpanch Sagar Lingudkar and three other panchayat members from the ruling group supported the resolution, which was passed unanimously.
The gram sabha also discussed several other village issues.
Raising concerns over land use, villager Zacharias Mendes urged the panchayat not to allow development projects on hills and fields belonging to the Verla comunidade.
The gram sabha supported the demand and called for the protection of these ecologically sensitive areas from construction activities.
Villagers also demanded that the Village Development Committee be involved in the decision-making process whenever new construction proposals are submitted for approval in the village.
Meanwhile, concerns were raised over delays in obtaining information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Local resident Domnic Correia alleged that villagers were often inconvenienced and forced to file appeals because of delays by the panchayat secretary in providing information sought through RTI applications.
Responding to the concern, Deputy Sarpanch Sagar Lingudkar assured the gram sabha that efforts would be made to ensure the timely disposal of RTI requests and that citizens would not face unnecessary delays in receiving information.
