Team Herald
GOLTIM NAVELIM-DIVAR: Residents of Divar Island are up in arms against the alleged destruction of their environment that they claim is being carried out by Champions Group for the proposed “Yacht Club”.
Villagers have decided to corner panchayat members at the Goltim-Navelim Piedade gram sabha on Sunday for issuing NOC (No Objection Certificate) to Champions Group to carry out activities on the land.
Assistant Parish Priest of Our Lady of Piety Church, Divar, Fr Francis Pereira, speaking to Herald said the activities are affecting the people of the island, especially the traditional fishermen.
“There has been destruction already and the agencies responsible are quiet over it. We have appealed to the people of Divar to raise strong questions to the elected representatives at the gram sabha,” Fr Pereira said.
Advocate Savio Monteiro said, “Right now Champions Group is testing the patience of the people. They have come here to reap the benefit of the island, which is visible as the bundh and mangroves have been destroyed. The local body and government officers are involved in the destruction of these areas. Now people are uniting to fight this.”
Villagers allege that for over a year Champions Group has been dredging small tributaries, clearing highly sensitive mangrove areas, closing bundhs with laterite stone walls and installing floating pontoons.
The work began in October 2014 whereas correspondence with the local panchayat began from June 2014, they allege.
Villagers say Goltim-Navelim Piedade panchayat has issued NOCs for dredging, cleaning of area, electricity and water connection and for floating pontoons.
But the club has no other NOCs from other agencies though the area comes under NDZ and CRZ, except for permission from Fisheries Department for pisciculture.
Last year Old Goa police arrested 70-odd labourers engaged in mangrove cutting at the same site; however the company has claimed that it is an eco-tourism project.
The property, 80,000 sq mtrs is owned by Champions Group who purchased it for Rs 4 crore. The property is an island surrounded by water; the only access being through boats. It is opposite the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary at Chorao and there is every possibility of environmental and ecological disturbances, as per environmentalists.
Divar resident Mario Pinto said that the property falls in the NDZ area, which is covered with mangroves and therefore the area is an eco-sensitive zone where no commercial activities are permissible.
“There has been a large scale of mangrove cutting and destruction of bundh by Champions Group which has blocked access to this part of the island by breaking the bundh and made the land only accessible by boats,” Pinto said.
Sanjukta Yougesh, Champions Group representative said, “We have not broken any rule, we are trying to develop this area by not affecting ecology.”
