Member Rui Araujo, who is also the secretary of Chicalim Villagers Action Committee (CVAC), expressed concern over the installation of a new mobile tower inside the property of a saw mill near Chicalim ground. He said, “We have been repeatedly demanding that the panchayat reject all applications for erecting mobile towers in residential area. However, new towers are mushrooming in the village. We demand that the panchayat should not issue any permissions for mobile/ WIFI towers in residential areas, and it should also ensure that permissions to all existing towers in residential areas are immediately revoked and the towers removed.
Another member, citing the need to preserve the village’s identity, raised the issue of mega projects and multi-storey buildings. Sarpanch Ruvina Rodrigues informed that the panchayat in 2008 had already taken a resolution on the same, but mega projects continued to come up. It was then resolved that panchayat would issue licenses only to projects with two-storeys or less.
The illegal reclamation of land by Abhishek Engineering (ship-repair yard) was also debated at length after the same was raised by Araujo. He questioned Ruvina on what action the panchayat had initiated to ensure the reclaimed area was restored to its original form and why permissions granted to the party were not yet revoked.
Panchayat Secretary Pradeep Tamankar informed the members that High Court had passed an order in favour of CVAC on the issue. He also said the panchayat had recently received a letter from Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) informing that the concerned party had been given four months to restore the reclaimed area to its original form. The panchayat will now start the process of revoking the licenses issued to the party and it will also keep a check on the restoration work.
Other issues, such as suggestions to be made in the Outline Development Plan (ODP) for the village in consultation with the villagers, declaring Chicalim caves as a heritage site were discussed.
