PANJIM: Chimbel villagers on Wednesday warned of intensi fying their agitation against the Unity Mall project after Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told them that the project could not be scrapped as it was a central ly sanctioned national project and had reached an advanced stage of implementation. A delegation of villagers met the Chief Minister at his official residence in Altinho to ascer tain the government’s stand on the Unity Mall and Prashasan Stambh projects. According to the delegation, the Chief Minister conveyed that while the Prashasan Stambh project could be scrapped, the Unity Mall could not be cancelled as around Rs 25 crore had already been spent. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Govind Shirodkar, Chairman of Biodiversity Man agement Committee & Wetland Toyyar Lake, said the villagers would not compromise on their demand to scrap the Uni ty Mall and were prepared to escalate their protest. He said the delegation also highlight ed discrepancies in the noti fication declaring the land as a wetland and reiterated that the project site falls within the wetland’s zone of influence. “The talks with the Chief Minister have failed. He is firm on the Unity Mall project. We have informed him that our agitation will be intensified,” Shirodkar said. According to Shirodkar, the Chief Minister stated that a fi nal decision on the Unity Mall would be taken only after a comprehensive study involving the National Institute of Ocean ography (NIO) and physical de marcation of the land. The vil lagers, however, rejected these assertions and reiterated that no construction should be per mitted at the site.
Despite being informed of the expenditure already in curred, the protesters said their hunger strike would con tinue until the Unity Mall project is scrapped, asserting that the project threatens their rights and local interests. Later, speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, “Chimbel villagers had come to meet me. I told them to withdraw the agitation. The Unity Mall was sanctioned by the central government. It is very difficult to shift the project. We are at a very advanced stage and pur chases have already been made. I told them that the zone of influence will be marked. Let us see whether the project site falls under the zone of influence or not. There is no need to intensify the agitation.” Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte and the St Cruz MLA also met the Chief Minister later in the evening at his offi cial residence, but said that no discussion on the Unity Mall project took place during the meeting. Meanwhile, former Aam Aadmi Party Goa president Amit Palekar questioned the government’s claim regard ing expenditure on the project and accused it of arrogance. “U-turns are not new for this government, which is drunk on arrogance. A claim is being made that Rs 25 crore has been spent on the project. The question is where has it been spent? Was it on putting up iron sheets or cutting trees? This is nothing but a scam. Are people’s sentiments cheaper than the Rs 25 crore spent on the project?” he asked. Advocate General Devidas Pangam said the project was still under consideration. “The Unity Mall is under the consideration of the government. A decision will be taken within a week. At present, the government is weighing the pros and cons. As far as I know, the government is consid ering the matter. What exactly is under consideration, I do not know.” However, reiterating the villagers’ stand, Shirodkar told O Heraldo that the agitation would continue and intensify after further deliberations within the village. “We are not satisfied with the reply given by the Chief Minister. The agitation will be intensified. However, its in tensity will be decided after holding a meeting of the villag ers. The future course of action will be decided after that,” he said. He also disputed the government’s claim on expenditure. “The claim that Rs 25 crore has been spent on the project so far is false because the ground reality is that hardly Rs 2 to 3 crore has been spent so far.” “The statements being made are contradictory. On one hand, they say poles will be erected, and on the other, they say there will be no concretisation. Is that possible? If you visit the site, you can see that the expenditure incurred is hardly around Rs 2 to 3 crore. The Chief Minister wants people to listen to him and withdraw the agitation,” he said
