SUNDAY, JUNE 02, 2024
PANJIM, April 8
The members of Panorama Harvests Co-operative Collective Farming Society Ltd, Anjuna, which has been in the news for sometime now, have asserted that there is nothing illegal in what they have been doing on atop a hill in Anjuna and have expressed concern over the “misinformation instigated by some”, regarding the alleged “farm houses” atop a hill at Anjuna.
“We are a registered audited Farming Society formed under the bye-laws of the Maharashtra Co-operative Society Act 1960, as applied to Goa, (now according to the Goa Co-op Societies Act) and has its area of operation extended to Anjuna, Arpora and Calangute villages. Our main objectives are to promote farming and other related activity in the area of operation”, said Nilesh Dabholkar, Chairman, The Panorama Harvests Co-operative society.
Among the active members of the farming society are the original tenant and 3 families of cashew pluckers, who even now are working on the collection and extraction of cashew and cashew juice. They have been doing this for nearly 50 years, he said denying that it was a cattle grazing land.
Over last few years, tens of thousands of trees have been planted and nurtured including teak, mangium, cashew, herbs and other fruit trees. The panchanama conducted by the Forest Department will bear this out, Dabholkar said. Many of our members are actively concerned with environmental issues, organic farming, and we have worked with many NGOs towards this cause, he claimed.
Membership of the society, he said, is open to anyone who is genuinely interested in these activities of agriculture, plantation, forestry, floriculture, beekeeping and related matters in the area of operation.
“As the Society has been granted permissions for agri-horti projects only, we intend to comply with this faithfully and do not intend to ask for any kind of conversion, which in any case, is not permitted by our bye-laws”, the press note said.
Referring to the 39 plots, Dabholkar said all are committed to plantations of various sorts. On about half the plots we may come up with farmhouses for some of our own financing members and even these plots would have forest and other plantations.
As regards No Development Zone as proposed in 2011 Regional Plan, the initial NOC for internal subdivision for plots each of at least 4000m2 for agri-horticultural purposes, including road was given as far back as 1994. The final NOC was given by TCP in 2006, after taking contours into account. No hill cutting permission was necessary, Dabolkar claimed.
Therefore, on a plot of say 4000m2, the coverage will not be of more than 100 m2. “We have passed a resolution disallowing compound walls, and giving free access for harvesting and collection purposes”.
A large portion of the land will be committed to nature walks through a botanical garden, well suited for birdwatchers and hikers alike. Included among the activities will be the continuation of cashew collection and juice extraction which has been going on for several years, nursery and landscaping services, forest plantation, etc, with only organic farming methods. This year, more emphasis will be put on the growing of exotic flowers. “While ruling out building of bore wells, we hope to carry out water harvesting to increase the water table for the whole area”.
