PANAJI
A day after assuring not to demolish a single house as part of proposed expansion of national highway project passing through Bhoma village, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday asserted that four houses cum structures will have to go to make way for the project, which is pending since 2007.
Several Bhoma villagers had on Sunday met Sawant at his residence in Sanquelim, during which the Chief Minister assured them that not a single house or even a small inch of the temple would be demolished or affected. He promised them to have a meeting on Monday.
Accordingly, the Chief Minister on Monday met residents of Bhoma over the long-pending National Highway expansion project. During the meeting, officials of the public works department (PWD) presented and explained the proposed flyover and land acquisition plan to the villagers, which the villagers were not happy with.
Following villagers' request, the CM directed the PWD officials to visit the village on Tuesday to share on-site project details including proper marking to understand the ground implications.
Speaking to media persons post meeting, Sawant ruled out the possibility of a bypass at Bhoma, as demanded by the villagers, citing that the proposed land is agricultural and khazan in nature.
“There is a lot of misinformation with regards to the project among the villagers. They assume that 40-50 houses or structures would be demolished. But that is not the case. As per the plan, only four houses, belonging to three people, would be demolished. One person owns a house and a shop. We will provide them an alternate plot as well as monetary compensation to rebuild the house,” Sawant said.
Sawant further said that “not a single portion of the temple will be demolished”. The Chief Minister also said that the gadas, located along the road side, would be relocated near the temple.
“We are ready to give the villagers in writing everything and every assurance. It is going to be very difficult to redraft the entire plan. The highway expansion project has been long overdue since 2007 and it is now on its way of completion. The aim is to ensure an accident-free zone,” Sawant said.
However, villagers said that it is difficult to believe the government. Villagers said they would decide on their future course of action after engineers show them the actual demarcations as per the proposed flyover plan.
They reiterated their demand that the government consider a bypass instead of a flyover. Highlighting that the project is a Central government initiative, villagers insisted that they will seek a formal communication from the Centre that aligns with assurances given by the Goa government. The villagers said they have been told during the meeting that four roadside structures would be affected, but no houses or temples would be impacted.
