It may be recalled that GSD has been conducting presentations on the RP at panchayats in both districts. It recently held presentations at special meetings across the coastal belt in Salcete and at Lohia Maidan, Margao. It will hold another presentation at the Krishna Temple hall in Curti-Khandepar on Thursday at 6 pm.
When asked to comment on the overwhelming response they have received, GSD member Abhijit Prabudesai said that they are only presenting the facts to the people and it is for the people to decide. He pointed out that the Town and Country Planning Department (TCP) is taking in a miniscule number of applications daily when compared to the amount of objections the villages have raised. He further said that through their exercise of disseminating information, more and more villagers have come out to oppose the RP for their village after discovering how it can affect their areas.
Prabudesai added that this was a process that needed time as people need to understand what the RP means, and that January 18 – the extended deadline – was of no significance to GSD as its concern was to educate the public about the RP at the village-level.
