Only 5 of 19 Salcete villages to hold gram sabhas today

MARGAO: Gram sabhas will be held in only 5 of the 19 villages in Salcete on Sunday (May 13) as directed by the Block Development Officer (BDO) as there was no sufficient time to issue the notice. 

A former Sarpanch of Raia has complained to the BDO against the gram sabha to be held on Sunday (May 13).

Former Raia sarpanch Xavier Fernandes, in a written complaint to the BDO stated that the sarpanch has violated her position and power to convene the gram sabha on May 13 without giving the mandatory seven-day notice.

“The villagers have been given only one day to submit their proposals and no announcement has been made in the Church about the gram sabha,” he said, alleging that this amounts to suppression of the constitutional and democratic rights of the people.

It may be recalled that at 19 village panchayats did not have the mandatory ordinary gram sabha in April, Salcete BDO had ordered the 19 panchayats to hold gram sabhas on May 13.

Only five gram sabhas will be held on Sunday at Nuvem, Sao Jose de Areal, Raia, Rachol, and Chandor-Cavorim. 

Chandor-Cavorim, Sao Jose de Areal and Rachol will take up correspondence from the villagers for discussions.

At Nuvem, a revised budget will be placed before the gram sabha. The budget had to be revised as the panchayat is now proposing to collect wet garbage from households and provision has to be made for the same. 

However, more significant is the fact that the Nuvem panchayat is following the Solid Waste Management Corporation’s suggestion and purchasing a baling machine at the cost of around Rs 6 lakh so that the large amount of plastic collected in the village can be baled and sent to the corporation.

The main point on the agenda for the Raia gram sabha is the budget but its fate now hangs in balance depending upon the BDO’s order on the complaint lodged by Nazareth that sufficient notice is not given for convening the gram sabha.

Varca, Rumdamol Davorlim, Guirdolim and Curtorim gram sabhas are likely to be held on May 20. While Varca has a village feast on May 13, Rumdamol Davorlim has expressed its inability to hold the gram sabha on May 13, as most of its members are out of station for the summer vacations.

On May 27, gram sabhas will be held at Seraulim, Orlim, Davorlim Dicarpale, Chinchinim Deussua and Macasana. Aquem Baixo and Nuvem panchayats postponed the gram sabha as there was no sufficient time to issue the notice for the same while Chinchinim Deussua panchayat was affected as the Sarpanch resigned suddenly.

Carmona, Betalbatim, Aquem Baixo and Paroda are yet to decide when to hold their gram sabhas while Sarzora proposes to have it on June 3. BDO Amitesh Shirvoikar said as panchayats had valid reasons for not having the gram sabha on May 13; he has permitted them to have it at the next convenient date.