To Goanet - Refer to my "Wrecking Salcette - Part 2" post as well.
See - http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=3802&cid=13 Gram sabhas do have powers Abhijit Prabhudesai, Curtorim In the column ‘OPinionatED’, there was an article titled ‘Powers of the Gram Sabha’ (Herald, 5 May). It is nothing short of propaganda on behalf of the real estate lobby. The author has conveniently missed out the actual legal position, which is as follows: First, Sec 6, clause 4, of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 provides that the Gram Sabha is the supreme authority of the Panchayat. It states: “The decision taken by the Gram Sabha shall be binding on the Panchayat, provided that it is not contrary to this Act or any other law.” Therefore, any Gram Sabha resolution must be strictly followed by the Sarpanch and the Panchayat, it is finally determined to be illegal or void by a court of law. Non-compliance with any Gram Sabha resolution will expose the Sarpanch and the Panchayat to liabilities for failure to perform statutory duties. Second, Sec 66 of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, clearly empowers the Panchayat to permit, regulate, stop and even demolish building constructions. Any and all building construction license applications must be submitted to the concerned Panchayat only. The learned advocate’s contention to the contrary is both unsubstantiated and contrary to the reality of procedures followed presently. Third, the statement that the power of land use is vested in the Town and Country Planning Department (TCP) and other unnamed government departments is also untrue. The TCP Dept is only a technical section and can only accept files that have been reviewed and found acceptable by the Panchayat. The TCP Dept’s role is related to specific technical questions and in practice the town planners always refer all other matters back to the Panchayat. In addition to policy decisions and socio-economic issues, even certain technical matters such as storm drains and surface water bodies are to be considered by the Panchayat. Finally, while the learned advocate starts his ‘opinion’ by admitting that builders are engaged in ‘indiscriminate building activity’, can he deny that the bar has played a leading role in the wanton destruction of Goa, and has grossly failed its ethical and professional duties? The number of cases where members of the legal fraternity have connived with the real estate lobby to misguide, cheat, threaten and injure the interests of poor Goan mundkars is shocking, and reveals how even in this age of information, true knowledge is cunningly denied to those who need it the most.
