They demand that the land be restored to original position
Margao: Raising the issue of illegal land filling at several locations in the jurisdiction of the village, residents of the Seraulim village at the gram sabha on Sunday demanded that the panchayat take action against the illegalities and stop the businesses operating at the sites.
The panchayat said that it will write to the collector over the issue and verify if any of the businesses have the required permissions.
Villager Joaquim Dias had in a proposal submitted to be taken up for Sunday’s meeting pointed to illegal land filling as being the cause for destruction of low-lying fields and called on the panchayat to conduct a survey of all such cases in the village and to restore the sites to the original form.
It may also be recalled that about a month back, the villagers had called the flying squad to a site near the wholesale fish market where truckloads of mud was being dumped in low-lying agricultural land. Farmers had also raised concerns about the land filling after their traditional pathway for cattle grazing and flow of water was disturbed.
On Sunday, Dias along with other villagers demanded that the panchayat should also take action adding, “The areas that have been illegally filled must be reverted to the original state. The illegal businesses operating at these sites also have to be stopped and the land has to be restored to its original form. The panchayat must take action.”
In response after a lengthy discussion, the sarpanch Sima Shanke said, “We will write to the collector about the issue and also verify if the businesses on these lands are valid or not.”
Villagers also demanded that the panchayat issue show cause notices to those found illegally operating on such land. Calls were also made to clamp down on illegal scrapyards functioning in the village.
The villagers also expressed concern about flooding due to the work of the Western Bypass blocking the traditional waterways. Even though the bypass passing through the village is on stilts, members pointed out that the contractor engaged in the work had dumped mud and blocked the waterway at several locations and called for it to be cleared before the onset of the monsoon.
They also extended support to the demand for the bypass on stilts in Benaulim and resolved to write to the agriculture department.
“We have the Western Bypass on stilts, but in Benaulim, it is still being built on the ground, which will affect everyone during the monsoon. We must write to the authorities to have the remaining stretch on stilts. We must support Benaulim. Seraulim also is a critical area and there should not be any more land filling or more access roads on our side. The panchayat must write to the WRD and agriculture departments informing of the eco-sensitive nature of the area and not allow any further development,” said villager Kevin D’Souza.
Questions were also raised about the work of railway underbridge that was nearing completion.
Villager Vincent Fernandes said, “When we had made the proposal for the underbridge, we were promised that it would be a straight road and that a bus would be able to pass through. But we now see that the road has a turn. Another question is of who will inaugurate the underbridge. The oldest person in the village must inaugurate it. We don’t want any MLA past or present to do the inauguration because each will take credit.”