CUNCOLIM: Social activists are furious at the Cuncolim Municipal Council (CMC) and District Administration (DA) for failing to curb the irregularities in converting hilly and green lands into settlement zone.
They had informed the DA, CMC and local police that some persons were filling low-lying areas and that hill-cutting was going on at a hillock near the proposed National Institute of Technology (NIT). Some persons were even trying to fill an abandoned stone quarry at the latter site. Thousands of square kilometers of land have been converted into settlement areas, with over a hundred plots for sale. However, the DA and CMC have not initiated any action against the culprits.
Unknown persons have developed the hilly area without permissions from the authorities. They are also planning to fill the abandoned stone quarries at this site, and have already dumped mud and stones there. The land near the NIT is in huge demand, and locals allege that the people developing the hillock are the same ones who were responsible for brining the Institute to the area.
The authorities are afraid to act on the complaints filed by NGOs and locals as the land developers are allegedly close to the ruling party. Social activist Savio Dias said, “Activists have complained several times to the DA and CMC, it was of no use. This type of illegal land-filling can invite incidents like the Canacona Ruby building disaster.”
Cuncolkars have demanded the authorities to act against those involved and to stop all construction activities on the hillock and the proposed NIT site.
