MARGAO: The mobile towers erected by cell phone service provider featured at three gram sabhas held on Sunday where one agreed to issue them the license, another rejected the company’s proposal while the third kept the application on hold till the next gram sabha.
The topic was hotly debated at the Velim gram sabha particularly since the villagers had stopped the erection of the tower when it was attempted in the night. Agitated villagers sought to know why the work was being done only in the night and not during the daytime.
They also accused the company of using bullying tactics by using the permission given to it by the Public Works Department to erect the towers near the highways. However, the villagers insisted that the panchayat’s permission was mandatory for any work undertaken in the village.
The matter also surfaced at the Guirdolim gram sabha where it was revealed that the company had sought the panchayat’s permission to erect the tower. As this matter came up towards the fag end of the meeting, the villagers asked that it be kept on hold and be decided at the next gram sabha as and when it is held.
However, the Paroda gram sabha decided to give the permission to the company to erect the mobile tower not only because everybody was using a mobile and connectivity was required but also because the tower would generate income of around Rs 35,000 per annum to the panchayat.
