MARGAO
Residents of Ratwaddo in Navelim village upped the ante against the housing project proposed in the locality, demanding the cancellation of the construction licence issued by the Navelim village panchayat.
Led by social activist Pratima Coutinho, the residents called on Salcete Block Development Officer Adarsh Desai to raise their objections over the panchayat secretary’s decision to issue the construction licence for the housing project despite objections by the local populace.
Briefing the media, Pratima pointed out that the delegation was told by the BDO that the panchayat secretary had issued the construction licence under the deeming provision after the expiry of the stipulated period as per the amended Act.
She demanded to know how the panchayat secretary came into the picture to issue the construction licence when the matter fell within the domain of the panchayat body.
In this respect, Pratima said the residents will call on Navelim Sarpanch Paul Pereira with a plea to explain how the panchayat secretary invoked the deeming clause and whether the panchayat secretary intervened due to lapses, if any, by the panchayat body.
