TEAM HERALD
BICHOLIM: Pilgao’s gram sabha had to be held under police protection after villagers reacted strongly to the sarpanch’s refusal to grant an NOC to a villager.
The villager, Brijesh Chodankar, had earlier requested for an NOC for a water connection. At the gram sabha, he asked Sarpanch Swapnil Phadte why he was not signing the certificate. The sarpanch claimed that the house was illegal and asked Chodankar to submit certain documents to prove otherwise.
Chodankar replied that he had furnished a house tax receipt, which was more than enough to get the NOC. He said, “Water connection is a basic need, and so it should be provided to every household. The panchayat should give NOC without any questions. The sarpanch is denying the NOC because of personal vendetta.”
The villagers were furious when they realized the sarpanch would not give the NOC, despite a resolution being passed to that effect. They sought to know whether the sarpanch had the right to deny such an NOC. The situation spiralled out of control, and the police were called in. The topic was shunted for the rest of the event.
Another issue that rocked the gram sabha was the sarpanch’s refusal to grant financial assistance to a local sports club for organizing a Kabbadi match. The sarpanch pointed that the club needed to be registered to avail financial aid. The club members replied that they had lost the registration certificate, but had produced a special certificate from the Sports Authority of Goa. However, the sarpanch still denied their request.
The villagers sought to know how the sarpanch was helping other organizations, but denying aid to youth from his own village. Other issues, including roads and illegal houses in the village, also came up for discussion.
