Team Herald
PANJIM: Escalating its protest demanding de-notification of Planning and Development Authorities (PDA) and the Regional Plan 2021, Goenkars Against PDA’s (GAP) on Tuesday announced that they will hold a chain hunger strike from May 9 to May 13 from 9.30am to 5.30pm at Azad Maidan in Panjim.
Addressing the media, social activist Roshan Mathias said, “We had given Vijai Sardesai one week to fulfill the demands, however, we have got news that on May 16 he will have a board meeting and discuss our demands after which he would reply to us. However, from May 9 to 13 our people will sit at Azad Maidan to strengthen the fact that the people really want something.”
He added, “We would not go for a hunger strike, but the TCP minister has done two things which are not correct, he brought PDAs to our villages and got us on the roads, after that he decided to revive the Regional Plan and has woken up the ‘susegad’ people.”
He further said that they would keep up the demands until all the PDAs are de-notified across the State and the Regional Plan 2021 is corrected.
“We will keep on making the demands until we get the de-notification of all PDAs and that RP 2021 is corrected, amended and if not possible then scrapped. We also want the 73rd and 74th amendment in TCP Act,” he added.
Social activist Rama Kankonkar said that until all the PDAs are de-notified, their movement will keep going. “Every time we gave the TCP Minister a deadline he did something else. If you really are a Goemkar, then you should de-notify it. Also, the Regional Plan has been prepared without any data. We feel that the plan should be sent to the villagers and then only taken into consideration,” Kankonkar said.
