MANDREM: Mandrem Sarpanch Bala Naik and others have called out the BDO and the Town and Country Planning Department for coercing the Village Panchayat to approve certain projects by putting a gun to their head to approve projects within four days. In the wake of rampant hill cutting and land conversion, the Sarpanch threatened to go to court if the hill cutting and land conversion does not stop.
“We had passed a resolution in the Gram Sabha that the TCP does not take the village panchayat into confidence when there is hill cutting and land conversion. We have submitted a memorandum to the Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar to intervene. There is massive hill cutting in Junaswada, Assgaowada and other places,” Sarpanch Naik told O Heraldo.
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Explaining the way the BDO puts a gun to their head, Naik said, “TCP after giving technical clearance gives us 30 days to approve the project. When we reject many of the cases, the BDO coerces the panchayat to give the permissions within 4 days. So the panchayat has no powers. We will not allow the hill slopes to be cut. MLA has assured to meet the CM on this issue and call a meeting of all Mandrem panchayats. If this doesn’t work, we will approach the high court.”
