Team Herald
MARGAO: At a public meeting held in Varca by concerned citizens, the locals demanded that the panchayat halt granting permissions to any multi-dwelling or other mega projects until a carrying capacity study of the village is first completed.
The meeting that was coordinated by youth activist Shohail Furtado, the locals shared concerns about how they, the original villagers, will soon be sidelined as the new population from the multi-dwelling units would then dominate the village.
They also shared concerns about how the village’s already strained resources, be it power or water supply, poor garbage management, absence of sewage network etc will be further burdened with these new projects.
The villagers further lamented that some of these mega projects are soon going to become a reality and it is time for the villagers to act right away.
It was also decided to ask the panchayat to hold a special gram sabha meeting on this issue.
One of the locals also pointed out that for these projects, there will be road widening demands but that there is not much land available for the roads to be expanded. They feared that fields of the village and other areas would be used for road widening which in turn would bring in excess population to the village as well. Furtado also alleged that while the panchayat may say they are with the villagers in opposing such projects, the locals would need to see proof and get the panchayats to cancel licences to these projects and not grant any such licences in the future.
This past Sunday, the villagers of Nuvem at their Gram Sabha had unanimously resolved to call for a moratorium on multi-family dwelings in the village. The decision followed a detailed discussion on how rapid development is straining essential services and the local environment.