Team Herald
MARGAO: The Carmona Panchayat on Saturday unanimously resolved to oppose the proposed conversion of paddy fields into settlement to set up an eco-tourism in the village and decided to write to the Town and Country Planning Department voicing its objections.
Addressing all the six other panchas, Sarpanch Allwyn Jorge said the panchayat was not informed about the proposal from a company to convert their land, but came to know about it only after the notification was published on March 3.
The panchayat members were unanimous in their opposition to the proposal and said that their objections be addressed to the Town and Country Planning Department with copies marked to the TCP Minister and local MLA Churchill Alemao.
Allwyn pointed out that the land admeasuring around 90,000 sq mts is classified as “paddy fields, water body and mangroves under Eco 1 zone” and that 10,000 sq mts of this land is sought to be converted to settlement to set up an eco-tourism project.
The panchayat resolved that the conversion threatens and will destroy “the natural habitat and ecological balance and cause extensive damage to its fragile eco system and bio diversity” and further added that the conversion would lead to flooding and ruining the fertile khazan lands besides polluting the rivulets and destroying marine life.
The panchayat also decided to meet TCP minister over the matter but this decision was not a part of the resolution after former sarpanch Sandra Fernandes objected to it being recorded in the minutes.
Interestingly while all seven panchayat members attended the meeting, eight villagers were present to witness the discussions at the meeting. Initially, around 20 minutes were wasted discussing whether the panchayat could decide upon the matter based on a notification and not having anything specific in writing addressed to it.
Sandra Fernandes raised this question that led to a long discussion that touched persons with the sarpanch lamenting that he was not even informed when the local MLA came to launch work of asphalting the roads in his ward after Sandra questioned how the sarpanch addressed the media first before the meeting was conducted.
