OLD GOA: The issue of IT park figured yet again at the Chimbel gram sabha with the locals demanding that a special gram sabha be convened on the subject, in the presence of concerned officials, so that the locals know what the project is all about and how it would benefit the villagers.
The issue was raised by Tukaram Kunkolkar at the gram sabha, on Sunday, after the panchayat authorities informed that they were called for a meeting by GIDC chairman Subhash Phaldessai wherein he agreed to have a dialogue with the villagers and listen to their grievances.
Kunkolkar further maintained that some years back the villagers had rejected the health city proposed by the then Congress government, on the same land, and recently had also disapproved the IT park project by the current government which was planned without the know of the villagers. “Hence, the government should allot the land to the villagers as promised by the panchayat in the past,” he opined.
However, deputy sarpanch Chandrakant Kunkolkar informed that the villagers can voice their concerns and demands at the special gram sabha meeting while giving thumbs up to the project stating that the project is good for the village as no pollution would be involved. “We have also been promised that 25 per cent jobs will be reserved for the Chimbel locals,” he claimed.
Later, it was resolved to confirm the availability from the GIDC chairman and accordingly fix the special meeting. The villagers also demanded that announcement of the meeting, on loudspeaker, should be done in the village so that everybody is aware of it.
The issue of illegal kiosks sprouting at Indira Nagar bus stand was also discussed at length with Prashant Borkar demanding action against the same. However, secretary Ashish Naik told Borkar to provide names of the owners of the kiosks so that notices could be served to them.
But, as Borkar said that he was not aware of the owners, it was decided to conduct an inspection of the kiosks and determine whether the owners possess permission from concerned authorities.
The non-desilting of drains also figured with Tukaram Kunkolkar demanding to know why there was a delay in completing the formalities of issuing tenders for the same. “The drains should be desilted before the onset of monsoon,” he quipped.
However, the secretary said the panchayat could get a technical clearance from the BDO only in June due to which the tender process was delayed.
Speaking on the same subject, Paul Fernandes said that the tender should be awarded only to a competent person who has all tools at his disposal to clean the drains. “Sometimes, the workers ask us to provide the tools to clean the drains,” he complained.
