MARGAO: Social activists on Friday vowed to oppose tooth and nail a ‘government note’ in circulation that allegedly proposes to include villages bordering Margao in the jurisdiction of the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA).
Activist Judith Almeida said a certified copy of the government note, which she received via the post on Friday, speaks about the inclusion of all the villages bordering Margao in the SGPDA. The note also makes a strong cause for the elevation of the Margao Municipal Council into a Corporation by including the neighbouring villages.
“I do not know whether there are any moves from the government to change the jurisdiction of the villages from the TCP to the SGPDA. But, if there are any moves, the people from these villages will not sit quite and watch the government include the areas into the PDA with an eye on the real estate development,” he said.
When Herald contacted Salcete Mamlatdar Vishal Kundaikar to shed light on the purported government note since the same is certified by the Salcete Mamlatdar office, he feigned ignorance about the note. “I have no idea regarding such a note. My office has not made any such proposal to the government,” Kundaikar said.
When SGPDA Member Secretary Vinod Kumar was asked on the matter, he too maintained that his office has received no such proposal from the government till date.
