Carmona villagers rebuke p’yat for not following up on gram sabha resolutions

Team Herald

MARGAO: Carmona villagers while hauling up the panchayat for not following up on resolutions adopted at the Gram Sabha also expressed their displeasure at the absence of panchayat members for gram sabha and resolved asking the government to amend the Panchayat Raj Act.

The gram sabha started with only the Sarpanch and another panchayat member Winston Dias being present and the reading of the minutes was interrupted by the villagers demanding an explanation for the absence of other panchayat members.

As the Sarpanch Allwyn Jorge explained that he would not do anything about this as the Goa Panchayat Raj Act is silent on the panchayat members’ presence for gram sabha the villagers resolved asking the government to amend the Act so that it is mandatory for panchayat members to attend gram sabha.

“The act has to be amended like how a member can be disqualified for not attending three consecutive panchayat body meeting,” said a villager Venzy Viegas. Incidentally deputy sarpanch Vailon Fernandes and another panchayat member Jose Francis D’Costa arrived after this discussion.

Villager Sucorro Miranda while referring to the minutes that were approved hauled the panchayat for not following up on the resolutions adopted at Gram Sabha. He pointed out that no action was taken on the survey of migrants, repair of the bandhs that were breached, improving the ground and lamented that the committee set up to take up the issue of Zalor beach had not even met since the last gram sabha.

The Sarpanch assured the villagers that he would call for a joint meeting of the panchayat and Village Development Committee within a fortnight and get going on all the pending works and asked the people to cooperate with the panchayat.

The panchayat was pooh poohed for rejecting the offer from Carmona Villagers Social & Welfare Forum to develop and badminton and volleyball court on the ground and said waiting for funds from the government would be futile and said the ground has to be developed from panchayat funds.

The villagers outright rejected the Coastal Zone Management Plan that was sent by the government which was the same that was sent earlier and rejected. Instead the villagers approved the plan prepared by the Village Development Committee which did it taking local farmers, fishermen and comunidade members into confidence.

The new plan has included additional area in the village to show the beach as one of its boundaries and also identified 18 sluice gates. However, the villagers also decided to participate in the meeting on 26th November when Coastal Zone Management Authority officials will come to explain the plan.

The villagers were also asked to be present for the meeting on 28th November when the Goa State Biodiversity Board officials will come to help prepare the Public Biodiversity Register.

While the sarpanch refused to discuss the Raheja matter since it was subjudice villager Savio Santos pointed out that the panchayat has not filed their reply as yet in the matter and he further asked the panchayat to find out from the Town and Country Planning Department how it could give provisional NOC to Bullion Infrastructure despite more than 700 people objecting to it.

TCP has given provision NOC to Bullion Infrastructure to convert 10,000 sq mts of khazan land into eco tourism. 

The gram sabha resolved to felicitate villagers for their excellence in their chosen field and Savio was asked to head the committee to select the people to be felicitated. Savio also pointed out that the Goa Buildings Laws have been amended without publishing the amendments and pointed out that this was illegal.