Team Herald
VASCO: A group of Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) councillors spearheaded by former chairperson Kritesh Gaonkar raised doubts about the sudden change in zone of the municipal land, which was allocated for a crematorium, back to Agriculture Zone by Planning and Development Authority (PDA) without taking the civic body into confidence.
Gaonkar in a press briefing raised questions over the silence maintained by MMC Chairperson Nandadeep Raut on this matter while he being present at the meeting as a representative of the MMC at the PDA meeting.
Gaonkar also mentioned that the agricultural land was acquired and handed over to Murgao Hindu Samaj and a resolution was taken to have a crematorium built for all communities. Further, accordingly, Mormugao Planning and Development Authority had changed the area and its surrounding area as a Settlement Zone. But in some days, the Crematorium Zone was converted back to Agricultural Zone, the surrounding area of the Crematorium Zone continued to remain a Settlement Zone which has mushroomed suspicion in the minds of some councillors that there was a vested interest involved of some people behind this matter.
Another Councillor Murari Bandekar opined that there should not be development around the Crematorium Zone and that they would pursue the matter with the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and other departments for immediate and adequate action in this regard.
Bandekar also added that the crematorium is a place where the last rites of the deceased are performed therefore at least the deceased should be allowed to rest here without making any controversy about the land.
Councillor Saifullah Khan opined that Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida should have intervened and should have seen that no dirty politics is played on this issue.
Later, when contacted Chairperson Raut to know what made him to stay silent on this matter during the PDA meeting, Raut revealed that the point related to the land has not come up as a Hindu crematorium nor it came up as a municipality property. The issue came up while referring to the Chalta number of the plot and therefore he was not able to understand and identify at that time, so he remained silent.
Raut further informed that when he learnt about such progression on the matter, he immediately called a meeting with the Chief Officer of MMC along with the municipal’s technical team and wrote a letter to Planning and Development Authority, raising objection and urging whatever is existing in the municipality property should be kept as it is, specially the crematorium.
He also mentioned that the PDA doesn’t have the right to make any changes without informing the municipality. The incomplete construction work which is next to the plot of crematorium has been issued a stoppage notice by the municipality.
