PORVORIM: Issues of road widening and revision of house tax dominated the Salvador-do-Mundo gram sabha on Sunday.
Some villagers objected to the widening of road from Ganesh temple to Mistry’s house stating that since the road passes through the fields, the farmers will lose some portion of their fields and they will not get any compensation.
Acting Sarpanch Reena Fernandes said the house tax and electricity tax have not been revised for the last 7 years and hence the panchayat proposes to increase it.
The villagers objected to the revision of house tax and sought to know the arrears of house tax. When the panchayat secretary divulged that arrears are around Rs 8 lakh, the villagers demanded that the panchayat should first recover the outstanding house tax. After discussions, the villagers gave consent for revision of electricity tax to Rs 10 per year from the existing Rs 6.
The villagers also aired their grievances about frequent fluctuations of electricity supply, incomplete footpath at Patto, playground, etc.
Speaking at the gram sabha, Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte clarified that developmental works are being undertaken after discussion with the panchayat.
“In regard to widening of road, the existing road is only 4 metres, which will be widened to 6.5 metres and footpath will be constructed by the side of the road. Since Land Acquisition Act has not yet been passed, it will not be possible to pay compensation to the aggrieved farmers now, but will be paid later once the Act is passed,” said Khaunte.
“If any farmer has any grievance, it can be resolved by discussion and the panchayat has been requested to convene a special meeting to sort out the problems,” said Khaunte.
Khaunte said the power fluctuation problem will be solved only when electrical cables are laid underground. “Till then, the panchayat should not grant permission for multi-storey buildings in the village,” he said.
“Regarding the breaking of electrical fixtures of the street lights by some miscreants, I have spoken to the police department to increase their patrolling in the village. The pending work of the footpaths at Patto will be taken up shortly and the villagers will get a new panchayat ghar soon,” assured Khaunte.
Earlier, acting sarpanch Fernandes welcomed the villages, while Secretary Marian Barreto read the minutes of the previous gram sabha.
