MARGAO
The controversy surrounding the draft notification to accord the Bio-diversity heritage site tag to the lakes and water bodies in Curtorim village has come under the scanner of the Bio-diversity Board Chairman and Environment Minister Alexio Sequeira.
With the tenants Associations and citizens from Curtorim raising strong reservations over the move to give bio-diversity heritage status for the lakes, the Bio-Diversity Board has convened a meeting of the stakeholders in the state secretariat on January 3 to discuss the controversial issue.
The meeting called by the Board Chairman assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of a host of petitions and memorandums submitted by the tenants Associations raising their objections to the proposed Bio-diversity heritage site status to the village lakes.
The issue had figured prominently at the last gram sabha of the Curtorim village panchayat wherein some of the members raised their strong objection to the move to accord heritage site status to the lakes.
Chairman of the Curtorim Bio-Diversity Management Committee, J Santan Rodrigues, however, had explained to the gram sabha members that the process has not been initiated overnight, but was set in motion way back in 2015 through a consultative process.
A villager and Shareholder of Curtorim Communidade, Oswald Fernandes, however, has begged to differ. He said all the Tenants Associations of Curtorim has filed their objections regarding BHS Curtorim, namely, Sirgem Add & Angdio Tollem Tenants Association, Tenants Association of Vaingonodde & Ralloi Tollem of Curtorim, Curginim Tenants Association.
He pointed out that farmers of Maina lake and surrounding areas filed their objections to the ongoing BHS issue, adding “it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that farmers/stakeholders was never taken into confidence while deciding on the draft notification”, he added.
Meanwhile, farmers comprising of Judas Simon Barretto have lodged their objection to the final draft of Curtorim BHS, saying the exercise has been carried out without due consultation with the farmers, property owners and other stakeholders of Sonbem Tollem (Maina Lake) and the owners of the properties around the lake.
In a letter to the Bio-diversity Board, the farmers, property owners and other stakeholders of Sonbem Tollem and the area around the Sonbem tollem raised their strong objection to the proposal of declaring their lake as one of the BHS of Curtorim. “Till date we are unaware about the implications of declaring it as a BHS. Neither us, nor the Communidade, nor the other property owners were not consulted nor intimated regarding the same”, he said.
He added: “We have many queries on the same, which needs to be addressed. We feel that the finalization of BHS is being conducted in a highly suspicious, illegal and arbitrary manner by keeping the stakeholders in dark. A perusal of the said guidelines mandates the involvement of communities institutions in the preparation of the BHS process, which has not been followed”, they claimed.
In the petition, Simon has prayed that all the correspondence from 2015 till date, along the relevant documents, plans and other information and details, related to the BHS, Curtorim are made available to the farmers in hard copies to facilitate them to raise their queries with the GSBB team due to visit the Panchayat to give the presentation and hold discussion on the BHS, Curtorim.
