Team Herald
VASCO: Four-hour long ruckus at the Chicalim gram sabha resulted in zero resolution on several issues, which were raised and debated during the prolonged meeting on Sunday.
During the gram sabha, lack of maintenance of joggers park with overgrown grass, non-functioning of the streetlights and sewage treatment plant (STP) came up for the discussion. Sarpanch Sebastiao Pereira informed that the panchayat do not have funds to maintain it.
The sarpanch said that he is trying to extend the maintenance contract through the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (GSIDC), which had built the said park at the cost of Rs 54 crore.
It may be recalled that Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant had ordered the joggers park to be opened at the request of the local residents, which was closed due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Gram sabha member Roopa Naik highlighted the issue of lack of sewerage pipeline and requested the panchayat not to issue any fresh licences for multi-dwelling projects without improving the sewerage infrastructure of the village.
In support to this point, another member Edwin Mascarenhas also pointed out that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered freezing all fresh permissions to multi-dwelling projects across Goa.
However, the Panchayat Secretary said that the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court has exempted Chicalim Panchayat amongst others from the said NGT directive and promised to provide a copy of said judgement to Mascarenhas.
Pratap Mhardolkar spoke on the issue of the closure of natural water drains by few private builders and urged the panchayat to intervene and inspect the said projects in its jurisdiction.
The sarpanch assured to conduct inspection of the same.
