Navelim locals oppose 3D urban survey as exercise sparks rural status anxiety

Navelim villagers opposing the NAKSHA land survey in the village at a meeting on Friday.

MARGAO
Navelim villagers on Friday firmly opposed any move to conduct the central government’s 3D NAKSHA urban habitation land survey in the village.
They told a team of officials from the Directorate of Land Survey and Settlement to convey the sentiments and decision of the villagers that the urban survey should not be carried out in Navelim village.
Land Survey official Patrick Gonsalves later told The Goan that Navelim villagers raised their fears and apprehensions over the land survey in the village, adding that the sentiments of the villagers would be conveyed to the Land Survey Director for further action.
The land survey team was invited by the Navelim panchayat to explain the features of the NAKSHA land survey after members of the gram sabha at the last meeting had voiced their apprehensions over the survey.
While the survey officials explained the technical aspects of the exercise, including the drone survey, villagers pointed out that they are not interested in the urban land survey in their village, insisting that they do not want the status of the village to be elevated to an urban area by merging the village into the neighbouring Margao Municipal Council.
A villager, Melvyn Pereira, told the team of officials that Navelim villagers would oppose tooth and nail any attempt to merge Navelim into the Margao Municipal Council. Reacting to a remark made by an official that the survey would later be carried out across the state, he sought to know whether the government had drawn up a plan to do away with villages in the future. “We fail to understand why this pilot project is being conducted in a small state like Goa and in Navelim. We will never allow the merger of Navelim into the Margao Municipal Council,” he asserted.
Another villager, Inacio Vas, echoed similar sentiments. He said the whole objective behind the NAKSHA survey in the villages is to merge the villages into the neighbouring municipal areas.
Villager Roshni Rodrigues later told the media that Navelim villagers, in one voice, had opposed the NAKSHA survey in the village. “We have made it clear to the land survey team that people want Navelim to remain a village. We don’t want urbanisation of our village. The team focused on technical aspects of the survey, but the people made it abundantly clear to the officials that they do not want any change in the status of Navelim,” Roshni added.
Land Survey officer Patrick Gonsalves later told The Goan that the villagers are sceptical of the survey due to the fear that Navelim would be merged into the Margao Municipal Council. “We respect the sentiments of the people. We will convey their decision to the Land Survey Director. All I want to say is that we are deploying good technology to conduct the land survey. Only time will tell whether Navelim will be part of the survey or not,” he added.
Navelim sarpanch Paul Pereira said the meeting had vehemently objected to the 3D land survey in the village, saying people had opposed any move to merge Navelim into the Margao municipal area.