Special gram sabha called to take stock of situation
MARGAO, JULY 2
Irked over the government’s decision to go ahead with the acquisition of 1.15 lakh square meters of Communidade land for the proposed multipurpose utility centre, Davorlim villagers have resolved to intensify the ongoing stir to force the government to scrap the project.
In this respect, the village panchayat has convened a special gram sabha on Sunday morning to take stock of the situation and chalk out the future course of action.
The meeting assumes significance given that the village panchayat as well as the gram sabha in the past had vehemently opposed acquisition of the Communidade land for the proposed multipurpose utility centre.
Locals have raised fears that the government after the land acquisition will allot a sizeable chunk of the acquired land to set up Kabrastan for the minority community.
The villagers have been demanding that the land in question be reserved for the original inhabitants of the village for their housing and other needs. In fact, the villagers maintain that the forefathers had protected the land for the benefit of the posterity and wondered whether the multipurpose utility will be of any use to the local residents.
Meanwhile, the Davorlim Civic and Consumer Forum has resolved to register their strong objection to the government decision to acquire the land in question.
Forum Joint secretary Wilma D’Costa said the area was being used as a cattle grazing ground and also has a small religious structure built by the shepherds community.
Questioning government’s action in bypass the several gram sabha resolutions objecting to the take over of the land, the Forum recalled that the villages at the gram sabha meetings had unanimously approved the demand, especially of the ST community, to reserve the land for the purpose of housing, horticulture and pasture for their cattle.
The Forum further recalled that the villagers had pointed out that the government in the past had acquired 30,000 square meters of land from the Davorlim communidade for the purpose of building houses for Goans from weaker sections but in reality the housing board caters only to the migrant labourers which has caused myriad of problems like sanitation, encroachments, disposal of household waste, overflowing of sewage water into cultivable fields, thus making the village a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
The members want to know from the government authorities the details of the multipurpose project and in what manner it would benefit the villagers at large and urged the government to drop all plans to acquire this land if it cannot give a satisfactory reply.
