Saligao gram sabha opposes commercial projects in village HERALD CORRESPONDENT CALANGUTE, NOV 7 The Saligao Gram Sabha on Sunday deliberated on various issues concerning the village. Initiating the discussion, Domnic Fernandes raised the issue of commercial project at Baira Alto, Saligao. When the matter was being raised by Fernandes, a gram sabha member, Ramesh, questioned whether the matter was of public interest or personal. Fernandes reiterated that the matter is of public interest, as a commercial project is coming up in the guise of residential dwelling, which will have an impact on basic needs of common people like water, power supply, garbage, etc. The members joined Fernandes and claimed that the hill is being cut illegally to make way for the commercial project. Gram sabha members including Ritu Prasad, Britto, Gama among others joined Fernandes and asked the panchayat to write a letter to the builder seeking his clarification in writing whether the project is commercial or residential. Former Saligao sarpanch Jack Coelho assured to look into the matter and requested Secretary Ramesh Palni to take note of the matter. In absence of the sarpanch, Coelho assured the Gram Sabha members to issue a letter to the developer seeking clarification whether the development is being done for residential purpose and would not be converted to commercial, either hotel or resort purpose, as stipulated in the TCP NOC and VP licence. Fernandes also pointed out that many projects are in the pipeline for Saligao and called upon the villagers to be alert. “Since other villages are overcrowded with multi-storey buildings, the builders have now set their eyes on Saligao. The builders have no proper plans in place like the garbage disposal, which will burden the Villagers in the years to come,” added Fernandes. Dean D’Cruz raised the issue of broken glass at the accident-prone zone and regretted the matter has been pending for almost five years and called for immediate action in the matter. Local Panch Eknath Oraskar assured to look into the matter before the next Gram Sabha. The gram sabha members also raised the issue of panchayat processing licences for large multi-dwelling projects, which would have an adverse impact on the village infrastructure. The members demanded that infrastructure like roads, water, electricity, etc, be put in place before issuing any licenses for major projects. The panchayat assured the members to develop the infrastructure before approving any new projects. Earlier, the secretary adjourned the gram sabha for lack of quorum and was re-convened at 10.30 am. Former sarpanch Jack Coelho welcomed the gram sabha members, while Panch Eknath Oraskar read the minutes of the previous meeting, which were later confirmed by the members.
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