TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: In a significant development on mega housing projects, Panchayat Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Tuesday asserted that elected panchayat bodies should have a say on the question of approval of mega housing projects in the villages.
That’s not all. Parsekar agreed that construction files of housing projects should first come to the panchayat body for approval before going to other authorities. “Mega housing projects are posing a challenge to the panchayat bodies in many areas of the State. I agree to the suggestion that elected panchayat bodies should have a say on mega housing projects,” he said, while addressing Salcete sarpanchas and panchayat members during an interaction at the Ravindra Bhavan on Tuesday.
Replying to a suggestion made by Nuvem MLA Mickky Pacheco to ensure that construction files should first come before the panchayat
body instead of the Town and Country Planning department, Parsekar said “I fully agree with the suggestion that the panchayat should have a say on mega housing projects, because panchayat bodies are aware of the traditional pathway, water ways in the village. If these aspects are not taken care of, projects will cause flooding and disturb the ecology of the area.”
Moreover, the Panchayat Minister said the panchayat is in a better position and understands the ground reality vis-a-vis existing population, garbage generation, etc. “I feel that the panchayat can return the construction file on grounds of inadequate information, misrepresentation about the project and ask the builder to re-submit the file after complying with the deficiencies,” he said.
On the request of sarpanchas on video recording of the gram sabha proceedings, Parsekar said there’s no harm when important matters are discussed at the gram sabha, but lamented that the atmosphere at the gram sabha is vitiated by group psychology when vested interests come prepared for the meetings.
Earlier, the Nuvem MLA said that all the problems faced by the panchayat bodies over mega housing projects can be resolved if the government issues a circular that construction files should be routed through the panchayat bodies. “All along, construction files used to come to the panchayats first. But, the rule was changed in 2010 wherein the files were routed through the Town and Country Planning department,” Mickky said, while urging the Panchayat Minister to retain the power of the panchayats on housing projects instead of the Town and Country Planning Ministry.
Meanwhile, Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco sought to know from the Panchayat Minister whether the resolutions passed by the panchayat bodies are binding on the government.
