JULIO D’SILVA
The Margao Municipal Council has failed to take any steps to provide a burial ground for the Catholics of the Our Lady of Grace Church despite being approached on various occasions even by the Collector.
Grace Church parish priest Fr Carmo Martins vide a letter dated November 16, 2015 addressed to then Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had reminded him of the resolution adopted by the Goa Legislative Assembly on September 16, 1999.
Pointing out that the Assembly had resolved to acquire land at Aquem to be used as burial ground for Catholic and Muslim communities, Fr Carmo had requested that a portion of the land under Chalta No 52, P T Sheet No. 228 be allotted to the Catholics.
In fact he had even suggested that 58,000 to 60,000 square metres of land in that area be allotted to them to construct the cemetery. Subsequently, Fr Martins had met the then collector in his chamber on November 30, 2015 to discuss the matter and following a lengthy discussion, the Collector initiated the process to provide land for the Catholic community for a cemetery.
Vide a letter dated January 20, 2016; the Collector had directed the Margao Municipal Council Chief Officer to take action in the matter as mandated under the Municipalities Act. However, the municipality has failed to take any action since then.
“Besides the written representation, I have discussed this matter personally with the MLA Digambar Kamat and even the then Deputy Chairperson Doris Texeira at Sarvodem when I had gone to celebrate a mass at the chapel there,” said Fr Martins.
However, Doris admitted that Fr Carmo did discuss the matter with her and had even told her that the MMC was sent a letter regarding the matter. “However, when I checked with the office, I found no letter,” she said. In fact, MMC Chairperson Dr Babita Prabhudessai said that she had no idea about the matter and added that she will have to check the same with the Chief Officer. Even Deputy Chairperson Tito Cardoso claimed to have no knowledge about such a communication from the Collector.
In the past too, when the issue was raised, the MMC had allowed the same to die a natural death.
It may be recalled that vide a letter dated December 2, 2010, the then Deputy Collector had asked the MMC Chief Officer to act on a representation made by then parish priest Fr Cleto Pereira asking for place to be used as a cemetery.
The then Municipal Engineer S D Gaonkar vide letter dated June 14, 2010 invited the parish priest for a site inspection to be held on June 18, 2010, which was never held and the matter died a natural death.
And as the MMC continues to turn a blind eye to this crying need of the Catholic community of the Our Lady of Grace Church, the parishioners will have to depend on the benevolence of the Holy Spirit Church and Navelim Church to bury their dead.
