- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do GOACAN a favour, circulate this email to your family members, relatives, neighbours and friends. Help others be BETTER INFORMED ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOACAN to launch GRAMSABHA ZAGRUT ZA awareness campaign. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Goa Civic and Consumer Action Network (GOACAN) will observe a week long awareness campaign to highlight the importance of people's right to participate in the decision making process at the Village and State level. The awareness campaign GRAMSABHA ZAGRUT ZA which will focus on the need to make democracy work for Goa and its environment will be launched on 30th May Statehood Day and will culminate on 5th June World Environment Day.
Various issues such as the Regional Plan 2021, amendment to the Town and Country Planning Act, clearance of new mining leases, licences to new Casinos, acquisition of additional land for Industrial Estates, continued air & water pollution and indiscriminate hill cutting will be highlighted during the awareness drive. Need to form the Ward Development Committees (WDC), effective functioning of the Supervisory Committees & Garbage Management Committee and greater participation of the elected Women representatives would also be highlighted during the week long drive. At a meeting organised by GOACAN to review the performance of the consumer forum volunteers in the recently held Gramsabhas, it was observed that the consistency in attending the Gram Sabhas and Village Panchayat Meetings in the last one year has been fruitful and encouraging. Among the villages that forum volunteers found successes were Majorda, Colva, Nuvem, Benaulim, Raia, Betalbatim, Davorlim, Velim and Navelim in Salcete Taluka, St. Estevam and Chorao in Tiswadi Taluka and Socorro, Assagao, Aldona, Moira, Saligao and Tivim in Bardez Taluka. The meeting also reviewed the performance of the forum volunteers in mobilizing citizens to attend the Gram Sabhas, prepare proposals for discussion & resolution, focus on formation of various committees, scrutiny of the minutes, budgets and audit reports. The volunteers also found the attendance at the Panchayat meetings very useful in understanding the gaps & shortcomings as well as the positive challenges that elected representatives face in the decision making process. The Volunteers discussed the effective use of the Right To Information Act 2005 in getting information on project licences, choice of beneficiaries in Govt. schemes as well as the expenditure undertaken for electrical fixtures as well as the biases displayed in recovering outstanding house tax and other dues. The Forum volunteers were of the view that extra efforts need to be made to achieve greater transparency and accountability keeping in mind the completion of one year of the Election of the Panchayat representatives on 5th May and the members of the Legislative Assembly on 2nd June. The lack of transparency in Village Panchayats in clearing mega housing projects, petrol pumps, sports facilities and related infrastructure & public utilities as well as its poor response to State Government notifications published in the Gazette on land acquisition and amendments to various Acts & Rules were discussed. The Forum volunteers also resolved to work effectively in the next three months on prevention of vector borne diseases, promotion of tree plantation, implementation of the disaster management plan besides promoting civic and consumer rights in more villages across the State in the next 11 months. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- GOA CIVIC AND CONSUMER ACTION NETWORK ---------------------------------------------------------- promoting civic and consumer rights in Goa ---------------------------------------------------------- GOACAN Post Box 187 Margao, Goa 403 601 GOACAN Post Box 78 Mapusa, Goa 403 507 mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----------------------------------------------------------
