Team Herald
MARGAO: The Nuvem village panchayat gram sabha turned contentious on Sunday as residents voiced strong opposition against rampant land conversions, illegal hill cutting, and growing concerns over migrant settlements in the village. The meeting, presided over by Sarpanch Freda D'Sa, saw heated debates as villagers raised alarm over what they termed as "uncontrolled development" in the area.
The debate began when Pausilipio Dourado, a resident of Belloy, highlighted the widespread land conversions occurring in Patepur, Ordgi, and Biada areas and questioned the panchayat body about conversions in the no-development zone, citing survey numbers. The opposition was so strong that when Dourado proposed a resolution against such developments, the entire assembly stepped forward as seconders, marking a rare show of collective resistance.
Jose Roque Andrade exposed what he described as a concerning trend of misusing the farmhouse clause to circumvent construction restrictions and explained how developers are exploiting this loophole by building farmhouses in areas where residential construction is prohibited, only to later repurpose them for residential or eco-tourism activities. He cited a specific example from Gounlloy in Survey No. 233/1-R, warning of a potential "Wayanad situation" where uncontrolled construction could lead to environmental disasters.
The situation in Gounlloy, according to the gram sabha members, particularly highlighted the dangers of unchecked development. Andrade pointed to a telling example where a farmhouse overlooks 56 plots and bungalows constructed on its western side, all approved by the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department and Panchayat with sanad. This pattern of development, he warned, could lead to serious environmental consequences, especially in the Rumder Tollem area.
Andrade's warnings were backed by several troubling signs he observed in the area, including mud bubbling out during the rainy season near Vailankani Chapel, a north-south crack-like trench that appeared between Gounlloy and Patepur hill about two decades ago, and foundation-threatening water seepage in Belloy houses. He proposed mandatory Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for all farmhouse constructions, regardless of their location.
The debate got even more heated when the discussion shifted to migrant-related issues.
Dourado raised serious concerns about migrants residing near Costa's spirit factory, highlighting safety concerns for local women and girls. He described incidents where village women had to wait for local male companions to safely traverse certain areas after dark. The issue resonated with Jose Roque Andrade, who shared a personal incident of his wife being harassed on the Nuvem-Majorda road at Arck Bhand.
While Sarpanch D'Sa promised to escalate these concerns to the collector and police, several gram sabha members expressed skepticism, citing previous inaction on similar complaints. Zarina D'Chuna added historical context to the debate, expressing both amazement and dismay at how land conversions and zone changes were being justified under sections 17(2) and 39A of the TCP Act, supposedly correcting "errors" in the regional plan. She questioned how a substantial area of 49.50 thousand square meters could have been "wrongly marked" in the regional plan, an issue that went unnoticed for nearly a decade.
Early agenda items included a complaint from Agnel Pereira of Guirim regarding malfunctioning street lights on the National Highway connected to Guirim internal road, and Sameer Naik from Belloy raising concerns about hill cutting, though without specifying exact survey numbers.