Dears, If I remember correctly, Abhijeet Prabhudesai [incidentally, the brother of one of the panelist] had a letter to the Editor published in the HERALD in early May, 2008, stating unequivocally that the Chapter-II, Section 6 Sub-section 4 of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 made the legal decisions of the Gram Sabha BINDING on the Village Panchayat.
The Gram Sabha can DIRECT the Village Panchayat to do certain act or to undo a certain act. This act can be the grant of a construction licence or withdrawal of a construction licence obtained by what the CM of Goa has termed as "misrepresentation or manipulation". Builders/Promoters in Salcet have ben proved [through documents obtained under RTI] to have converted the "Outward Number" of a letter to fix the date for an inspection into a fraudulent document purportedly stating that the land was outside the 500 metres from HTL limit of CRZ. A Builder/Promoter in Aldona and Moira is shown to have obtained a construction licence for construction in the name of a former owner for a property owned by it on the date of application itself. At least one Panchayat "found" a letter from the builder that it claimed it had never received, after the Builder's representative flaunted it to all and sundry ...with the Panchayat's acknowledgement on it with stamp, signature and date. that the "lost and found" letter has the wrong stamp and signature is another matter that will be dealt with separately, if we have the time. the Sarpanch has resigned as per the "agreement" to change Ali Baba every year. The rest will still get a part of the spoils. So will the ex-Sarpanch. Adv. Cleofato Coutinho Almeida is reported to be legal representive/advisor of at least one builder. It would be nice to have his denial on record, if by some chance the contrary is true. I am happy that Mr. Ashwin Tombat did NOT "Moderate" the session. I am also happy that the BAC and GGRM Convener, Geraldine Fernandes [it would be nice if the journos were a bit more gender sensitive ...and did NOT refer to this non-feminist but very feminine LADY as a SpokesMAN ;-)], attended .... and participated ... the Symposium-cum-discussion of SGJA along with Caesar Fernandes and some others. QUOTE On the other hand, spokesman of Benaulim Villagers Action Committee, Geraldine Fernandes said that gram sabhas are a forum which reflects the aspirants and sentiments of the villagers. Drawing the attention of the participants to the high court directives to the panchayat gram sabhas to identify garbage dumping sites, Fernandes said this shows that the gram sabhas can take decisions affecting the people at large. UNQUOTE. The good word, I believe, is "aspirations" of the people ...though "Aspirantos" is a designation that many Goans lived with during the colonial rule in the Estado da India Portuguesa, when they were not designated as Officers [Delegado, Chef, et al] even though they performed the said duties. So what exactly was Adv. Cleofato Coutinho Almeida trying to tell us? That we are living in the USA, not GOA ... and all the projects in the coastal strip of Salcet costing below US $ 1.0 billion are really too small projects for the Gram Sabha to waste its time on?? Is he wear USA-made shoes or walking on USA air or sailing in a USA hot air balloon?? Mog asundi. Miguel People firm on showing mega housing projects the door HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 7 - A discussion on 'Will mega housing dilute the Goan identity?' organized by South Goa Jouranlists Association here on Saturday conveyed a clear-cut message that Goans do not want any mega housing projects and underlined the need to bring together all people and groups to fight and protect Goan identity. The participants felt that the government come out with a suitable legislation to prevent sale of land to outsiders. Editor of Herald, Ashwin Tombat said the management of Herald is ready to hold an all Goa convention of various groups to discuss and address the burning issue affecting Goa and Goans. The question whether gram sabhas enjoy powers and the jurisdiction to decide on mega housing projects triggered a lively debate. High Court lawyer, Cleofato Coutinho Almeida said the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment does not empower the gram sabhas to decide on these questions, adding that the gram sabhas domain is to decide on schemes and village development. "The gram sabha is a statutory body. It cannot usurp powers which the Constitution has not specifically given to the body", he said, adding that illegal decisions taken by the gram Sabha can be set aside by the Director of Panchayats. Advocate Coutinho said the will of the people should prevail through the rule of law or it will result in chaos and anarchy, adding "if the people find a law bad, they should demand to change the law". He admitted that panchayats can revoke a plan or licence if any builder had got it approved through misrepresentation of facts and manipulation. On the other hand, spokesman of Benaulim Villagers Action Committee, Geraldine Fernandes said that gram sabhas are a forum which reflects the aspirants and sentiments of the villagers. Drawing the attention of the participants to the high court directives to the panchayat gram sabhas to identify garbage dumping sites, Fernandes said this shows that the gram sabhas can take decisions affecting the people at large. Tombat said if gram sabhas have no powers, then the people will have to serioiuly thing what to do and reminded the gathering that it was the resolutions at the various gram sabha meeting that had scared the government to scrap the Regional Plan. Social activist, Serafino Cota said Regional Plan, SEZ and now mega housing projects will only destroy Goa and Goans and underlined the need for the government to do an introspection over the burning issue. He said the mega housing projects will destroy the village look and turn Goans into a minority. "One side, we will have migrants, and on the other, high class outsiders swarming the state if the trend continues", he added. Engineer Dilip Prabhudessai said it is a welcome phenomenon that Goans are coming out on the streets to protect their identity and emphasized the need to draw a line on the issue of migrants and outsiders. He said the basic problem lie in the promotion of Goa as a peaceful state and tourist destination, with builders luring outsiders to settle in Goa. On the question of powers of gram sabhas, Prabhudesai said a majority decision cannot be democracy if it does not conform to the rule of law. Tombat said a new awakening is building up in the villages giving rise to uprisings at the gram Sabhas. Social activist, Mohandas Lolyenkar, who moderated the discussion calling for uniting the people of Goa to unitedly fight the issues affecting the villages. -- -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. Miguel Braganza, S1 Gracinda Apts, Rajvaddo, Mhapsa 403507 Goa Ph 9822982676 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
