PONDA: Undir ward residents of Bandora panchayat on Wednesday alleged that PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar was taking them for granted and forcing the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) upon them, despite their strong opposition.
Addressing the media in Ponda, the residents claimed that the procedure followed in setting up the plant was totally illegal and that if the government does not scrap the project, they would not hesitate to approach the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court of India.
Undir Surakshan Manch Convener Gurudas Naik said that the project cannot be set up in their locality as the environmental law does not allow cutting of mangroves and the Agriculture Tenancy Act does not allow use of tenanted land for non-agricultural purpose.
He lamented that the MLAs who make laws, themselves were breaking them and the general public was helpless spectator.
Surel Tilve said that Sudin had not obtained any irrevocable power of attorney in respect of the land where the sewage plant was coming up, as claimed by him in Assembly.
“The minister has obtained NOC only for the project from the owner and tenant of the land,” he claimed adding, “If he has such power of attorney, then he should show the same to the locals.”
He said that the chief minister should ask Sudin to resign from the chairmanship of SIDCL for allegedly misleading the residents of Undir.
Former panch Anand Naik said that the PWD minister pressured the panchayat to issue NOC for the project despite opposition by two panchas.
Mukund Naik, another Undir resident, sought to know why the government proposes to purchase of 33,000 square metres of land for an STP that requires only 10,000 square metres of land. Therefore, he demanded a vigilance inquiry into the land acquisition.
Gurudas Naik said that Undir Panch Bhaskar Naik has been vehemently opposing the project in his ward, however, the PWD minister claimed that ten panchas supported him. If so, Sudin should shift the STP to any of the other ten wards, he said, while suggesting that ward 2 (Bokadbag) or 3 (Talule) would be ideal places for the STP.
