MARGAO: At the three-hour-long Benaulim gram sabha (GS), the panchayat informed the villagers that they have sought legal opinion as part of their plan to file a petition before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) regarding their demands for the construction of the Western Bypass in Benaulim via stilts.
This issue came up during the meeting when the GS members wanted to know the latest update regarding the villagers’ demands, which have been taken up by the panchayat’s committee on the western bypass.
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While there was a feeling that there was not enough progress from the government’s side, the Sarpanch Xavier Pereira informed that the panchayat would approach the NGT and were waiting for feedback regarding the legal opinion from their counsel.
With the panchayat becoming a petitioner, the idea is that they would have greater locus standi to approach other courts if necessary.
There was also a major debate about the actions of the former Chairman of the Benaulim Panchayat’s biodiversity committee. It was brought to the fore that the ex-chairman had sent a letter to the Goa State Biodiversity Board, downplaying the amount of biodiversity there is in the village and this letter was used by the ten-member NGT committee and ended up passing recommendations denying the villagers’ demand for building the western bypass through Benaulim on stilts.
