Team Herald
QUEPEM: Following a recent Xeldem gram sabha meeting that raised concerns over hill cutting at Sonfathor-Xeldem, the Deputy Collector of South Goa acted promptly by issuing a show cause notice and stop work order after an inspection and the submission of a flying squad report.
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Local social activist Prashant Gauns Desai informed that the South Goa Deputy Collector A1 took notice of the matter and ordered an immediate halt to the illegal hill cutting in Xeldem, issuing a 48-hour show cause notice. The flying squad’s findings of illegal hill cutting brought the issue to the gram sabha’s attention, sparking local demands for panchayat enforcement.
Desai, who raised the matter at the gram sabha on November 3, called for swift action to halt the hill cutting at Sonfathor. He subsequently lodged a complaint with relevant authorities and action was taken within a 15-day period.
Another local resident of the Xeldem panchayat commented that the show cause notice cum stop work order, issued against the large-scale illegal hill cutting, brought significant relief to the community. “Being a sloped terrain, no development should be permitted. Those responsible for the illegal destruction should be charged under the relevant Sections of law and instructed to restore the hill to its original state, with vegetation replanted,” he said.
