PANJIM: Surrendering to the people’s will, Town and Country Planning (TCP) Minister Vijai Sardesai on Saturday announced that all 10 villages from St Cruz and St Andre constituencies would be dropped from the jurisdiction of Greater Panjim Planning and Development Authority (GPPDA) with immediate effect. Taleigao and Kadamba plateau will now form part of GPPDA.
The move comes a week before a peaceful public protest called by the villagers demanding that GPPDA be denotified. The decision for official approval will be placed before the TCP Board during its meeting scheduled on April 9.
Addressing media
persons, Sardesai said he surrenders to the will of the people and declares that all villages from St Cruz and St Andre constituency included in the GPPDA will be dropped with immediate effect. “My sole objective as an elected representative of the people is to listen to the voice of the people and act in their interest,” he stated.
“The cry of the people is ‘the voice of God’ and there is no better time to heed to it than this holy weekend. Therefore, taking the wishes of the people as my command, and standing by the age-old adage that humanity is the foundation for all other virtues, I declare removal of villages,” he said.
The Minister said he is ready to even drop Kadamba plateau from the planning area, defeating the whole principle of planning, if there is opposition for that also. “Currently there is no opposition as such and hence the Kadamba plateau and Taleigao will be part of the planning area,” he said.
Villages of St Cruz, Chimbel, Batim, Curca-Bambolim, Siridao, Gancim, Azossim, Cujira, Talaulim, Calapur will be dropped from the GPPDA. The gram sabhas of the respective village panchayats had resolved to de-notify the villages from the planning area.
St Cruz MLA Tony Fernandes (Congress) and St Andre MLA Francis Silveira (Congress) had resigned as members of the GPPDA, headed by Goa Forward Party leader Atanasio Monserrate, in protest.
Sardesai blamed the local MLAs for misleading the TCP Board for inclusion of these villages into the planning area. “GPPDA was constituted with the included villages after the elected representatives from St Cruz, St Andre made written requests to my department. They misled us and so also misread the voice of their people. They were completely unaware about their people’s pulse,” he said.
“Subsequently, these elected representatives retracted their views after people protested,” he added.
The Minister said that like any Goenkar, there is nothing he desires more than seeing Goa retain its unique identity. “In 2017, when I made a positive compromise to form this government it was to ensure that the idea of Goem, Goenkar and Goenkarponn is upheld and this agenda of our party is taken forward,” he stated.
“And post government formation, our agenda became the vision document of this government through common minimum programme,” he commented.
Meanwhile, Sardesai who also holds the Agriculture portfolio, said that non-availability of land in promoting and developing a floriculture estate in Goa could force the State Agriculture Department to revert to its traditional poly-houses scheme, which is under temporary suspension.
Sardesai said, “We are looking for 100 acres of land for the project. Currently, as a final attempt we are in talks with Loliem panchayat in Canacona. We have identified comunidade land there,” he said.
He added, “It will be fully funded by the State government. We will also identify markets for farmers. However, if we don’t find suitable land, we will not go ahead with the project. We will revert back to the poly-houses scheme, which is currently suspended. Under that scheme, we provide 90 per cent subsidy.”
