Move to install Chhatrapati Shivaji’s statue in Sao Mathias P’yat premises erupts in controversy

PANJIM: A controversy has erupted over the installation of a statue of Maratha warrior king, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in front of Sao Mathias Village Panchayat even as the sarpanch claimed that no permission has been granted till date.

The matter escalated to an extent that a group of villagers approached the District and Sessions Court, Panjim, and obtained a stay over the installation of the statue.

One of the petitioners, Ivo Azavedo claimed that the gram sabha held on October 30 last year, listed an agenda under ‘development and beautification with a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’ in front of Sao Mathias Village Panchayat.

According to Azavedo, during the gram sabha, the villagers realised that the village panchayat committee had already passed a resolution allowing the installation of Chhatrapati Shivaji statue on the panchayat premises as part of the beautification process.

“The sarpanch said that the file had been sent to North Goa Zilla Panchayat (ZP) office two weeks before the gram sabha. The crowd was polarised with this issue. Heated arguments started and discontent spread in the gram sabha. The method by which the process was hidden and kept secret until it came to the gram sabha was shocking. A section of the community was shocked to learn that they had no say and they were mere spectators to the discussion unfolding in front of them,” Azavedo said.

The Sarpanch called for a show of hands to decide the support for their decision which was a rudimentary method and disagreed by some. Normally, 50-70 villagers attend the gram sabha but on that day as if through orchestration there were close to 200 people. Without verifying if they were voters of the village and whether there were major in age, a majority of 140 in favour of the proposal was declared. 

Azavedo then tried to reach out to the various stakeholders for amicable solution and to shift the statue to another location but not infront of the panchayat. But he received cold response and then a group of villagers filed a petition before the Directorate of Panchayats in December against the Zilla Panchayat and the village panchayat.

But the villagers did not get any relief from the Directorate of Panchayats and the order was challenged in the District Court on February 3, this year. The next gram sabha held on February 12, resolved to keep the matter pending since it was now subjudice. On February 18, the District Court stayed the order of the Directorate of Panchayats.

“In spite of this, the village panchayat committee allowed installation of the statue in the panchayat property, the next day, on the occasion of Shiv Jayanti (February 19).  There seems to be no regard to the sentiments of the villagers and the court,” Azavedo said, adding that the main issue was not about Chhatrapati Shivaji, but it’s about the covert method by which it was made to look as a mandate of the villagers and the location.

When contacted, Sao Mathias Sarpanch Supriya Tari feigned ignorance about the issue and expressed her inability to initiate any action since the matter is subjudice.

“We already had a proposal to beautify the area in front of panchayat office. We received a proposal from Hindavi Swaraj for setting up of Shivaji statue and we forwarded the application with our proposal of beautification to North Goa Zilla Panchayat office. But till date, we have not granted permission to install any statue and we are not aware who are the individuals or the group who brought and kept the statue in the panchayat property,” said Tari.

On the condition of anonymity, a villager said that the statue has just been placed and not installed in the panchayat premises.