MARGAO: The South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) is scheduled to meet on April 5 reportedly to take a final call on the ring road that is hanging fire for the last so many years only because the affected families are yet to be rehabilitated.
Around eight families whose houses are affected by the ring road have to be rehabilitated and the authorities have already acquired land for the same which is hanging fire only because the local MLA Digambar Kamat has reportedly got his own agenda.
Initially it was proposed to acquire only 1028 square metres of land to rehabilitate the affected families, subsequently the government acquired around 7,500 square metres of land from the Margao Comunidade.
As the local councillor Ketan Kurtarkar reveals that the SGPDA proposal is to utilize only 1028 square metres to rehabilitate the displaced persons while the rest of the land has been reserved for future development and shown as a blank on the plans.
It is learnt that the additional area has been acquired to rehabilitate the migrant population currently living around Cine Lata so that they who are presently residing in cubicles can get a relatively decent housing.
However, locals are objecting to this move and demanded that either the entire land be utilized to rehabilitate those displaced by the ring road or provide the additional area to the poor inhabitants from Comba who are currently residing in rented apartments and having problems or litigations with the landlords.Ketan Kurtarkar who is a strong supporter of the housing for locals says he would take up the matter with Fatorda MLA and TCP Minister Vijai Sardessai. “Though I never took up this issue with him in the past were politically apart, now that he is with us, we shall have to discuss this issue,” he said.
