PANAJI
Residents in the ecologically fragile twin-islands of Chorao and Divar gave vent to the anger brewing among their ranks against government plans for big ticket 'development' in their villages at the gram sabhas held in their respective panchayats on Sunday.
At Chorao, residents who had been mobilising to oppose a massive real estate project including putting up banners of 'land not for sale' over the last two months, unanimously passed a resolution putting a spoke in the panchayat's issuing of licences for multi-dwelling housing projects.
The resolution said, the panchayat shall not issue the construction licences unless the project is discussed and approved at a gram sabha.
Chorao Sarpanch Silvano Pereira told the media that the panchayat body will respect the resolution and henceforth will not issue any licence even if applications are approved by the Health department, TCP department or any other relevant department unless there is a nod from the gram sabha.
"We are with the villagers and for them in this matter," Pereira said.
Villagers in Chorao are also opposing a jetty built reportedly for luxury yacht operations in the village which they claim will interfere with the kazhan ecosystems and disturb the ecological balance.
At Divar's Goltim Navelim, meanwhile, the gram sabha on Sunday witnessed opposition to the State government's proposal to declare the island as 'Tourism Village'.
In multiple resolutions the Goltim-Navelim gram sabha opposed the government decision to declare Divar as a tourism village and also housing projects of more than 12 flats and swimming pool.
Goltim-Navelim sarpanch Mario Pinto made a point that blind opposition may prove to be counter-productive as several businesses operated by locals on the island such as homestays, restaurants and bars will get affected. Villagers however explained that theirs was not a blanket opposition to tourism but to the proposal to declare the whole island a 'tourism village'.
