Team Herald
MARGAO: A controversy has erupted in Nuvem constituency over the proposed waste treatment plant, with constituents accusing the local BJP MLA and Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira of making false statements about their opposition to the project.
At a protest held at the proposed plant site on Thursday, the villagers of Nuvem constituency strongly refuted the Minister’s recent claim that they had never approached him regarding their opposition to the waste management facility planned at Verna Industrial Estate.
According to the constituents, they had met with the MLA twice since 2022, where they had submitted detailed memorandums outlining their concerns about the plant’s potential negative impacts. These meetings included discussions about the plant’s proximity to an air funnel used by aircraft during landing, raising concerns about possible bird strikes.
The villagers further recalled how the MLA, who was then the Congress MLA, had appeared to be receptive to these concerns. They added the MLA, at that point of time, had even contacted senior government officials to verify details about the air funnel and had even committed to raising the issue in the July 2022 Assembly session.
The villagers also showed video evidence that the MLA had then subsequently spoken on the Assembly floor against the proposed plant in 2022, where he had expressed concerns about its potential environmental and local impact, and had urged the State government to reconsider the project. This was when Sequeira was a Congress MLA.
However, the villagers pointed out that ever since the MLAs defection from Congress to the BJP, there has been a stark change in the MLA’s stance. The villagers further condemned what they describe as “blatant lies” by Sequeira, who now serves as the state’s Environment Minister, regarding their engagement on this issue.
The villagers also appealed to the Chief Minister to reassess the Environment Minister’s competency, citing concerns about damage to the government’s image due to recent public statements on various issues.