Team Herald
MARGAO: At a joint meeting of the Village Development Committee (VDC) and Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) of the Chinchinim village panchayat, there was unanimous opposition to the government’s decision of notifying Durga bundh as a wetland. The meeting also focused on the public’s demands regarding the proposed highway expansion through the village.
Sarpanch Valentino
Barretto said they have asked the government to consider Alternate-1 as a proposal for the by-pass road NH-66
and that on the wetland issue, they are exploring
an appeal against the recent notification.
“The people of Dandewaddo and Bandfoll have been requesting the government for a bypass for the past so many years and are eagerly waiting for light to shine on this issue,” said Deputy Sarpanch Sharmila Gracias.
Regarding the wetland issue, the panch of the concerned ward, Gerson Gomes, accused the authorities of being at fault in the way
they ‘wrongfully carried out the process’.
“They just used Google images without undertaking any ground survey and have drawn the line over dry land. The actual pond area of water is around 2,000 sq metres and it has two channels of water approximately 900 meters. However, the rest of the area is paddy fields. Secondly, the 50-metre buffer zone is not feasible for us as our ward is like an island surrounded by fields, measuring 200 meters in breadth and about a half km long. So, all the houses are in the buffer zone,” said Gomes.
At the meeting, the BMC Chairperson Evonne Cardozo pointed out that during the stakeholder consultation with Goa State Wetland Authority (GSWA), several objections were raised by the villagers and farmers.
“Thereafter, written objections and consultations took place with GSWA objecting that the Durga bundh is not a lake and cannot be converted to wetland. Panchayat, BMC and farmers all opposed the draft notification of Durga Lake as 99% of the notified land are agricultural fields and not even 1% represents the actual water body. The area was not cultivated because of cattle menace,” said Cardzo.
She added that the grievances related to the draft notification of November 2020 were also heard in the presence of Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral but they did not receive any reply from GSWA, which went ahead with the official notification on March 31.
“In today’s meeting, the BMC, villagers and farmers have requested the Sarpanch to look into the matter and it has been decided to have a meeting with the GSWA or other higher authorities and if needed, legal advice and action would be sought,” she added.
