Team Herald
MARGAO: Various issues concerning villages of Salcete were taken up at a public grievance meeting held at the South Goa Collector’s office, which were addressed by Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira on Friday.
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The first was an issue raised by the tenant association of Loutolim, whose members were unhappy with the new sluice gate auction scheme for pisciculture (fish farming). They pointed out that for the first time, they are being asked to pay a 20% deposit, which was not disclosed at the time of the auction. They added that due to this issue, the mamlatdar had not cleared their files and there is no agreement yet, which is causing inconvenience to the small fishermen. While the Minister said he cannot give them an assurance, Sequeira said he would convey their grievances to the Revenue Minister, under whose portfolio such matters are handled.
There was also a discussion between the tenant association leaders and Sequeira about the amount they would be willing to pay. The tenants also said they wanted to pay in installments, as has been the custom over the years, and not in one lump sum as has been demanded. The tenants added that they would submit a memorandum to the Revenue Department on Friday.
The second issue that came up was the demand of the Raia Panchayat, who are against the notification of a lake in the village as a wetland. Given that the panchayat was meeting the Wetland Authority later on Friday, Sequeira urged them to present their case to the Authority, as he felt the order of the Authority would be binding. Sequeira pointed out that the Raia Panchayat was asking for the lake to be declared a heritage site and not a wetland, as this way, the lake would be protected and it would also eliminate the 50-metre-long buffer zone that would come into effect if it was declared as a wetland.
Amongst the other issues taken up were Sequeira’s instructions to the police to carry out an extensive and urgent tenant verification in the village and also to launch a drive to eradicate the sale and consumption of banned substances in his constituency. The public grievance meeting at the Collectorate also addressed the issues being faced by the Power Department, who seek to cut roads for laying new lines.
In another matter, the clash between the dates for the ISL game featuring FC Goa and ‘We For Fatorda’s Carnival programme, both scheduled for March, came up for discussion. The Minister spoke to Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai about resolving the issue and added that Sardesai said there would not be a problem for both events to be held in Fatorda on the same day.
