PANJIM: The Verna villagers have accused a builder of constructing a commercial premise, close to the popular Ambulor Lake, despite being under the scanner of the Town & Country Planning Department for the violation. The villagers have come together under the banner ‘Save Ambulor Lake’ demanding to stop the illegal project, which is allegedly backed by the local village panchayat.
Addressing a press conference in the capital on Thursday, one of the villagers said the village panchayat issued the concerned proprietor license for an upcoming ‘open air wedding & celebration hall and dance floor’ in contravention to TCP’s technical clearance for construction of a residential house, domestic storage shed, toilet block and compound wall.
“Some permissions were granted for construction of a residential house, domestic storage shed, toilet block and compound wall. A letter from the TCP on October 9, 2018 addressed to the proprietor of the Open Air Dance Hall clearly states that the technical clearance was given only for these four constructions and not for any Open Air Hall. Without the requisite construction permissions or existence of any legal infrastructure, the village panchayat issued Trade and Establishment License for the Open Hall and Dance Floor on June 18, 2018 which looks more like an attempt to legitimize the illegality through the backdoor,” said a member of the forum. Centre for Responsible Tourism, which is backing the cause of the villagers, alleged that repeated communications to local and State departments informing them about the irreparable damage by way of the commercial activities on the banks of the lake has not fetched any results.
The villages also alleged that despite gram sabha meeting resolving to send a ‘stop work’ notice to the builder, the panchayat is disregarding the decision. They have appealed to the Wetlands Authority, Goa Coastal Zone Management Authrity, Goa State Biodiversity Board, Water Resources Department to undertake a hydro geological study on the impact of such commercial activities on the banks of the lake as well as the over impact on River Sal. “It is imperative that this lake be placed under permanent protection by law from any commercial development,” they demanded. The villagers have decided to hold a public meeting on Sunday to echo their demand for immediate stopping of all project-related construction activities in the village.
