- Revenue Minister assured consultation with panchayats before decisions.
Panaji: Amid fears of the urban status being imposed on villages, the Goa government on Friday assured that a decision about notifying a village as an ‘urban area’ will be taken only after consulting the concerned panchayat.
Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserratte said the government will take an appropriate decision only after a due consultation.
Earlier in the day, Congress, Goa Forward Party and AAP expressed concerns over the recent circular to village panchayats by Block Development Officers informing that the Revenue Department was “revisiting the notification issued in 2020 which had notified 56 villages as urban areas across Goa.” Congress spokesperson Amit Palekar alleged that the BJP was “selling off” Goa by changing its demography.
“There is already immense pressure on infrastructure, strain on natural resources and gradual erosion of village character and environment. We strongly oppose such a move for the ultimate sale of our land by BJP, CM Dr Pramod Sawand and the revenue department,” he said.
Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai said the Goans were not against development per se. “We are against development imposed without data, debate, and consent,” he said.
Sardesai said the “unscientific push” to slap the urban status on 10 Salcete villages was not about development but an undemocratic shortcut that bypassed gram sabhas and starved local panchayats.
AAP MLA Cruz Silva said the move to declare ecologically sensitive villages as urban areas will harm the environment and local ethos. The government will bring in huge real estate projects, spoiling the environment, he claimed.
Reacting to the controversy, revenue minister Monserratte told PTI that the government had notified certain villages as urban areas in 2020 and had subsequently withdrawn the said notification.
Recently, Village Panchayat Taleigao sent a representation to the government that it fulfilled the criteria prescribed for a Census Town, he said.
“In view of the representation, the matter was examined and the area was notified as an urban area,” he said.
Subsequently, the department decided to ascertain the views of the other panchayats earlier notified as urban areas, the minister said.
“Accordingly, the Directorate of Panchayats has been requested to obtain the comments and views of these panchayats,” he said.
A decision will be taken only after considering the views of each panchayat to ensure that it reflects the consensus and aspirations of the affected villages, Monserratte said.
(Disclaimer: This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
