**************************************************************** Documented by Goa Desc Documentation Service & circulated by Goa Civic & Consumer Action Network (GOA CAN)<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ***************************************************************** --------------------------------------------------------- Resistance building up against hotel project. ----------------------------------------------------------
As a five-star resort company's project for a world-class recreation park on the Sinquerim hill makes progress, the residents of Candolim are building up resistance to it. The director of tourism, Mr Suryanarayana confirmed that the lease agreement between the Goa government and Indian Resort Hotels company for a recreation park in about 3 lakh sq mt of land on the hill has already been signed. The lease is for 50 years, renewable for another 49 years. Mr Suryanarayana said once the park becomes operational, the company will pay the state government a fee of Rs 1 crore annually. The resort company has already obtained permission for the project from the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) which has made its approval conditional on as many as eight grounds. According to the conditions, all the provisions of the coastal regulation zone must be strictly followed by the company; the approval of the concerned town and country planning office and village panchayat must be obtained before starting construction work; the park must be open to the general public; the common recreational facilities should be priced at rates affordable by ordinary citizens; all native tree species, including the natural vegetation of the Sinquerim plateau, must be preserved to the maximum extent possible; no constructions/structures would be permissible within the coastal regulation zone abutting the bank of river Mandovi; and the traditional public accesses, including accesses, to the Aguada Fort should not be blocked. The Candolim panchayat has unanimously rejected the application of the resort company to set up the recreational park. Yet the panchayat officials say that if other authorities give their approval to the project, the panchayat will also be forced to approve it. However, the sarpanch, Mr Agnelo Fernandes wants the residents to give their opinion as soon as possible to the panchayat about whether they are for granting approval to the project in case approvals are granted by other authorities. A local group called Candolim Residents and Consumer Forum (CRCF) wants the approval granted to the project by Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) be revoked. The forum argues that the Sinquerim plateau falls in CRZ-I in which no construction activity can be permitted. In support, they cite the coastal regulation zone notification of September 1996. Among other things, the notification puts areas that are ecologically sensitive and important and areas of outstanding natural beauty/historically/heritage in the category of CRZ-I. The forum says that the entire belt has been defaced with concrete. Its drinking water wells have become polluted and the Sinquerim hill is the last natural preserve of the village that remains untouched. Mr Sanjay Sethi, general manager of Taj Holiday Village, Sinquerim, which belongs to the Indian Resort Hotels, expressed inability comment on the project. He said he had been posted to Goa very recently and that the recreation park project was being handled directly by the corporate office. The forum fears that the pristine beauty of the Sinquerim hill will disappear with commercialisation. Offering a panoramic view of the Arabian Sea, Panaji city and the Sinquerim-Calangute beach, the hill also houses the 300-year old St Lawrence church, the historic Aguada fort and the lighthouse -------------------------------------------------------- The Navhind Times 9/8/02 page No 3 -------------------------------------------------------- ======================================= GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE Documentation + Education + Solidarity 11 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta, Mapusa, Goa 403 507 Tel: 252660 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy ======================================= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
