SHWETA KAMAT
shweta@herald-goa.com
The concept of Planning and Development Authority (PDA) looks something new to the village panchayat of Curca-Bambolim which is yet to apply its mind on the ongoing controversy. The village areas, which are claimed to be growing faster, are likely to be included in the PDAs, once the North Goa PDA is bifurcated into three.
If one remembers, the VP had rejected RP 2021, alleging that most forest areas and hill slopes with a steep gradient have been doled out for settlement, endangering the ecology of the area. They were one amongst those villages which had asked for scrapping of RP21.
The villagers here are more concerned towards preserving the green land. Conversion of hill slops, orchard lands and agriculture areas, ruled the RP21 for the village.
When contacted, the Sarpanch Maria Leena Da said that she has heard about the news of PDA through media reports but there is no clarity on the same. “The panchayat members will be meeting on November 1 to discuss on the PDA issue. We will accordingly write to Directorate of Panchayat on the same, seeking clarification,” she said.
The Sarpanch, refrained herself from making any comment on PDA as well as on the RP 21, stating “village development plan is already in force and all developments take place accordingly”.
A panch member, on request of anonymity says, “Inclusion of village into PDA will give boost to planned development. We will have a broader development plan called outline development plan. The plan will focus on creating the facilities for the villagers”.
However, at the same time, the panch does not rule out the fact that it will favour real estate lobby.
The local Congress MLA Francis Silveira remained unavailable for comments, even after repeated attempts.
