MAPUSA: Tension prevailed in Paliem Ucassaim on Tuesday after villagers gathered in large numbers near the Sateri temple and alleged that vast tracts of land was being developed after cutting a verdant hill here and demanded that the activity be immediatly stopped.
It may be recalled that two months ago, the villagers had filed a complaint regarding the alleged illegality with the panchayat as well as other departments concerned and charged that the authorities were soft peddling with the issue.
On Tuesday, when a team of officials from the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department visited the site as per the instructions of the North Goa Collector to inquire into the issue, locals also gathered at the spot and demanded to know as to what was happening.
The North Collector in a letter to the Town Planner on 21 April 2023 directed the officials to probe the issue as the flying squad team had inspected the site and observed that ongoing construction work was underway on non-cultivable land with cutting of land at North-Eastern corner having a vertical drop of average height of 3.50 mtrs and length of 10 mtrs and width of 8 mtrs in survey number 6/3 of village Paliem, where a permission board was displayed at the site for construction of bungalow/villas but permission under section 17-A of TCP of 1974 was not displayed nor any permissions were made available during site inspection and section 17-A of Town and Country Planning Act, 1974 is applicable in this matter.
Locals charged that they were bearing the brunt of rampant constructions and hill cutting in the area. “We have major electricity and water issues. Every fifteen minutes, there are power cuts and water supply was erratic. If the authorities keep on issuing permissions for constructions then the situation will go from bad to worse. Authorities including the TCP officials should not grant permissions sitting in the office but rather inspect the sites and then do the needful. The local panchayat should first make provision for basic necessities to villagers and not promote projects at the cost of the environment,” said villagers.
Locals said that if hills in the village continue to be destroyed then soon the ground water level will deplete.
“I had filed a complaint two months back with photographic evidence to the panchayat as well as other departments concerned however till date there is no action till date,” Rakesh, a villager said.
