Team Herald 

CANACONA: Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) in an intra-office communication has asked the Canacona Block Development Officer (BDO) to submit the information which is required for selecting Agonda for the upcoming project to make it a smart village.

The Central government sponsored Eco-Smart Coastal Village project will focus on multiple components which include developing the basic infrastructure, capacity building of local community for alternative livelihood and replenishing the degraded natural environment.

“The objective is to make Agonda, if selected, self reliant with sustainable environment for reducing the impact of climate change. The village will demonstrate an ideal eco-friendly planning unit,” the communiqué from GEDA says.

The GEDA has sent a list of queries to the BDO who in turn has sent it to the Agonda panchayat for a detailed report on the questions listed.

Sources at the BDO office said that the components of the Eco-Smart Coastal Village Project will not only focus on developing eco-friendly infrastructure such as rainwater harvesting, solar energy and biogas plants, but will also take into consideration restoration of coastal natural environment, alternative livelihood training for local community, capacity building of local community, disaster management and ecotourism.

Speaking to Herald, Agonda sarpanch impulsively expressed ignorance of the proposal.

“As per reports in a section of the press, the letter from GEDA was received by BDO on September 6 and till now the sarpanch of the village is kept in the dark,” the sarpanch lamented.

When asked for his views, the sarpanch said that the proposal of such a magnitude should be discussed during the gram sabha and put for voting, if it finds favour with majority of the residents there is no issue over that.