TUESDAY, MAY 07, 2024
MARGAO, APRIL 4
A week after he was taken to task at the gram sabha meeting for according approvals for a housing project, Betalbatim sarpanch Minguel Pereira has said he would soon hold a site inspection to verify the position vis-à-vis the road of the project.
Pereira told Herald that the panchayat had granted approval to the housing project mooted by Nanu’s following directions issued by the Deputy Director of Panchayats.
Asserting that the Betalbatim Panchayat would abide by the resolution passed at the last gram sabha meeting, Pereira said the Panchayat would revoke the license granted to the housing project at the earliest. “The Panchayat has called for a site inspection of the project, including the road shown in the plan”, he said, adding that the panchayat would not hesitate to revoke the license if the road width is found less than the ground situation.
Saying that the Betalbatim panchayat has no vested interest in approving the project, Pereira said the approval was granted only upon the orders of the deputy director of panchayats. “Now that the gram sabha has authorised the panchayat to revoke the construction license, the panchayat would go as per the sentiments of the villagers”, he said.
The Betalbatim gram sabha held last Sunday had witnessed strong reactions against the housing project on grounds that the project has been approved without taking basic amenities such as water, roads and water supply into account.
In fact, local MLA and Tourism Minister Mickky Pacheco had led the attack on the Sarpanch and the panchayat for granting approval for the housing project sans the basic amenities.
Pacheco, in particular, was sore over the fact that the panchayat had failed to display the housing project plan in the panchayat for the perusal of the members. In fact, the gram sabha has now resolved that the panchayat should display all housing projects submitted to the body for approval before granting the construction license.
