Team Herald
MARGAO: Orixtt Porjecho Awaz has resolved to go on an indefinite hunger strike at the DefExpo venue in Quitol if the Goa Government doesn’t clear the doubts about the project.
At a press conference on Saturday, OPA demanded that the Goa Industries Development Corporation cancel the permanent venue resolution from their minutes or face the flak of the people. It has also criticised Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for making a U-turn on his promise to return the land to its original form.
OPA has prepared an 11-point agenda and demand charter on the Defence Expo and will discuss the same at a meeting in Quitol on Sunday. The Betul-Naqueri panchayat will also hold a special gram sabha on Sunday to discuss the sidelining of the local panchayats on the DefExpo planning.
“The entire village will go on a hunger strike if the government fails to satisfy the doubts and the demands of the people of adjoining villages,” told said Freddy D’Silva of OPA.
He added, “We have also written to the neighbouring villages to join the fight against the DefExpo and attend the meeting in large numbers.”
The agenda points OPA has listed in its letter to Parsekar are: Make the project report of the weapons exhibition open to the public; Discuss whether the venue is permanent; Resolve that nothing other than clean industries or educational institutions will be set up in that location or else the land has to revert to the panchayat; Discuss whether Mopa was the originally selected venue and on what basis was Naqueri selected; Discuss employment opportunities for locals; Resolve to guarantee employment for 2,000 Naqueri locals; Discuss the infrastructure of bridges/roads in Bali and Quitol; Resolve to make the bridge stability reports and road maintenance plans public.
Further, discuss whether the organizer/contractor had taken permission for hill cutting; Resolve to file an FIR under Section 17A of TCP Act against the organizer for hill cutting without permission; Discuss who are given contracts and tenders and whether they are from Goa; Make the financial report of the Weapons Exhibition open to public; Discuss whether the Defence Ministry and State government had taken the locals for granted by not informing them and then threatening them with FIR; Resolve that the Minister of Defence and Chief Minister issue a written apology to the locals; Clarify whether there is risk to life given that 11,000 bottles of blood and ambulances are required to be on standby at the site; If all the above fails, discuss the villagers’ proposal to stop all work and shift the DefExpo outside Naqueri-Betul.
Meanwhile, OPA’s demands are: Make the entire project report public within 48 hours; State Government should issue an order within 48 hours to withdraw the Naqueri GIDC land as a permanent venue for the DefExpo; Issue a statement clarifying why the Defence Ministry/State Government chose the Naqueri GIDC land, overriding the Defence committee recommendation dated July 9, 2012, which had recommended Mopa as the DefExpo site; Employ 2,000 locals for the exhibition at fair wages; Make the structural stability report of the bridges at Bali and Quitol public along with post event maintenance details.
Additionally: File an FIR against the contractor for hill cutting at Quitol under Section 17A of the Town Country Planning Act; List the contractors who were awarded tenders along with the tender amount and address of the contractor; Make the financial report of the exhibition public along with the details of the State Revenue via taxes, GIDC fees/rent, panchayat fees etc. Also set up a panchayat development fund wherein percentage of the revenue of DefExpo is set aside for development of the panchayat; Make the disaster management report public within 48 hours; and if the above demands cannot be met, all works be stopped and the DefExpo be shifted outside Goa.
