In a fiery show of resistance, villagers of Palem-Siridao on Wednes day evening took out a mashal (torchlight) rally against zoning changes pushed through under Sec tion 39A of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act and proposed mega housing projects that they allege threaten to perma nently scar their village landscape. The protest, held amid growing anger over large scale hill cutting and exca vation reportedly linked to upcoming construction projects, saw residents accuse authorities of qui etly facilitating land-use alterations while ignoring ecological and community concerns. Villagers warned that tampering with exist ing zones — particularly no-development slopes — would irreversibly dam age the area’s ecological balance and natural ter rain. They demanded an immediate halt to ongo ing works, cautioning that rampant hill cutting could trigger soil erosion, land slides, biodiversity loss, and long-term destruction of their way of life. What began as a local protest drew wider sol idarity. Residents from Chimbel, Carambolim, Cur ca-Bambolim, Goa Velha and neighbouring villages joined the rally, signalling that opposition to the zon ing changes is spreading beyond Palem-Siridao.
Addressing the gathering, villager Tushar Gawas said, “Residents have become vigilant and will not allow anyone to destroy our land and environment. The mashal rally, or ganised on Rakhandar Day, signifies our determination to safeguard our village and serves as a warning to those at tempting to alter its character.” Bhupesh, a resident of Palem, said, “The government is deliberately issuing zoning notifications during major fes tivals, forcing people to take to the streets in protest. Noti fications were released during Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, and now during the Intruz festival.” On behalf of Chimbel villagers, activists Govind Shirod kar, Ajay Kholkar and Reghana Kuncolkar extended their support and called for an immediate halt to what they de scribed as “piecemeal” land conversions. Speaking on the issue, Shirodkar said, “Out of the total 2.5 lakh square metres of land — much of it classified as no-development slopes — nearly 84,000 square metres has been notified for conversion under Section 39A of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act. The TCP Depart ment is permitting such conversions in phases to benefit developers. Around 160 apartments are likely to be con structed if the land-use changes are approved.” Siridao-Pale Sarpanch Suvarna Kuncolkar said, “The vil lage panchayat has filed formal objections to the proposed land conversions with the TCP Department. The matter was also discussed at the gram sabha meeting, where vil lagers strongly opposed any attempt to convert no-devel opment slopes. The panchayat stands firmly with the vil lagers on this issue.” Panchayat member Bharat Shirodkar also informed the crowd about the objections submitted by the village panchayat, reiterating their opposition to the proposed zoning changes. The villagers collectively demanded the scrapping of Section 39A of the TCP Act, an immediate stop to hill cut ting and tree felling, and urgent measures to protect the village’s natural habitat. They further warned that the pro posed mega housing projects would place additional pres sure on already strained local infrastructure, raising seri ous questions about whether development is being driven by public interest or private gain.
