In a dramatic show of defiance, villagers from Siridao-Palem, led by their local MLA, stormed the Town and Country Planning Department (TCP) office at Patto, Pan jim on Friday, demanding an immediate halt to con troversial land conversions cleared under Section 39A of the TCP Act. The protest began around 11 am but quickly escalated into a full-blown occupation of the depart ment’s premises, with villagers refusing to leave till time of going to press, late into the night. The ag itation intensified when a large group entered the chamber of officiating Chief Town Planner (CTP) Vartika Dagur, confronting officials over indiscrimi nate and opaque zoning changes in their village. At the heart of the un rest are nine proposed or approved zone changes in the Sant Andre constit uency. Villagers alleged that five proposals have already been cleared, converting parcels in the Palem-Siridao belt into settlement zones. Accord ing to them, much of the land falls within no-devel opment zones and com prises sloping, ecologically fragile terrain. Warning of grave envi ronmental consequences, residents drew parallels with the catastrophic landslides in Wayanad, Kerala, cautioning that reckless hill cutting and construction could invite similar disasters. They accused the authorities of pushing through sensitive land conversions with out consulting the local community. CTP Vartika Dagur told the agitating villagers that she would forward the files along with their representation to the TCP Secretary and the TCP Min ister the same day. But the protesters were not im pressed, insisting that both officials sign the file imme diately and remain in the office until the decision is formally endorsed.
Bhupesh Shirodkar, a villager demanded a fresh official notification be issued scrapping the land conversion pro posals. “We will not leave the TCP office till the file scrapping the proposed land conversions is signed and a fresh notifica tion is issued,” he said. The villagers sharply criticised what they called a lack of transparency and accountability in the decision-making process, asserting that the community’s voice was being sidelined in favour of powerful interests. The agitation has been building steadily. On Wednesday, residents of Siridao-Palem, joined by villagers from neigh bouring areas, had taken out a mashal rally to protest the proposed conversions and mega housing projects — sig nalling that Friday’s confrontation was not a spontaneous outburst, but the culmination of mounting public anger.
