Calapur Comunidade attorney drags feet on promised land

MERCES, DEC 23
It’s almost a month since Calapur Comunidade attorney Mariano Araujo had promised the gram sabha that he would put forth a proposal to the comunidade to allot land to the Santa Cruz Panchayat for setting up waste treatment plant.
However, it appears that the attorney did not mean what he promised. Inquiries with Comunidade President Ladislau Gonsalves revealed that the issue was never discussed by the committee members nor any meeting was ever called to discuss the issue, without which no decision could be taken.
Santa Cruz Panchayat Secretary Pednekar also informed Herald that the panchayat has not received any communication from the comunidade regarding the matter.
“I contacted Mariano to know of the progress in the matter, but he is yet to get back to me,” he added.
When contacted, attorney Mariano himself admitted that he has not taken up the issue with the other comunidade members, as he was busy with other things.
But, Mariano informed that he has contacted the Pollution Board officials for their say in the matter and also contacted some NGOs.
However, when told that the matter needs to be first discussed at the comunidade executive committee meeting without which it would be difficult to proceed further, Mariano confidently said he would arrange for a meeting in January and promised that a decision would be taken on the issue before the next gram sabha takes place.
When asked Santa Cruz Sarpanch Rosy Fernandes to know whether Calapur comunidade attorney Mariano is taking the panchayat and the villagers for a ride, she said she doesn’t think so and sounded confident that Mariano would take up the issue as promised.
Sarpanch Fernandes further informed that, on her part, she has advised Mariano that instead of pursuing a fresh matter of allotting land for waste plant, he should pursue the old matter when the earlier committee had promised to allot land at Cacra.
“In the earlier matter, I had personally taken interest so that the land at Cacra could be used for waste treatment,” she informed and added that it was only after completing all the formalities that the panchayat, at the Nth hour, was informed that the land has been allotted to Goa University,” she said.
“In this regard, I have asked attorney Mariano to find out whether the Cacra land has been really allotted to Goa University or not, since it would be much easier to pursue with the same if the land is still available,” she added.