Team Herald
CANACONA: Despite COVID-19 restrictions good number of villagers attended the Loliem-Polem Village Panchayat gram sabha on Sunday, as the discussion of public hearing on Coastal Zone Management Plan on March 7, was one of the important item on the agenda.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Three of the nine panchas remained absent. Earlier, Secretary Sandeep Desai read out the minutes of the last gram sabha, which were ratified by the members present. The villagers are perplexed over the fact that the public hearing is fixed on March 7, which they said is too close and the hearing cannot be held without a presentation to the villagers by experts in the field.
The gram sabha discussed the CZMP and noted that the plan will determine the survival of the local communities.
The gram sabha also noted that the public hearings are planned in such haste without any information being provided to the panchayat or the villagers, which will be an exercise in vain. It was agreed that without understanding the maps, the villagers will not be able to participate in the public hearing.
It was also pointed out that the plan did not accommodate many of the features of the CRZ, such as the traditional pathways that are critical for the local economies.
After detailed discussions, the gram sabha resolved unanimously that no public hearing shall be held until the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) explains the maps to the gram sabha and that the village panchayat should write to the GCZMA accordingly.
It was also resolved unanimously that all the traditional pathways in the village shall be notified and that no traditional pathway will be allowed to be blocked by the landowners.
Sarpanch Sachin Naik, panch members Nishant Prabhudesai, Jessica Corte, Alfonsa Araujo, Ajay Lolienkar and Bhushan Prabhugaonkar attended.
