Team Herald
PANJIM: The Salvador do Mundo village panchayat has come under criticism for granting permit for alleged land development and later inspecting the same site following complaints of hill cutting.
The four opposition panchayat members Sandeep Salgaonkar, Vijay Dalvi, Reena Fernandes and Dattaram Redkar have alleged that the panchayat issued a permit in 2023 for the alleged construction where hill-cutting was seen, which had now become a subject of controversy. They questioned why an inspection of the site was not conducted before issuing the permission.
The four panchayat members further stated that the panchayat conducted a site inspection only after complaints by villagers. It was surprising that
panchayat conducted an inspection after issuing permission for construction. Redkar alleged that the opposition members were kept in the dark from the beginning. He said that permission was granted for construction without a proper inspection.
The four panchayat members further stated that the Porvorim Police had already registered an FIR against one of the panchayat members and a former member for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 18 lakh to approve a project and investigation in the matter was in process.
On August 28, the flying squad from Mapusa along with other officials and panchayat members had inspected rampant hill cutting at Paitona in Salvador do Mundo.