MARCH AGAINST RAHEJA CHAMBERS TO THE RESIDENCE OF CM

MARGAO: The village groups of Goa on Thursday marched to the Malbhat residence of Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and demanded that the government stop issuing construction license for the housing project of Mumbai-based Raheja group in Carmona village.

Armed with banners and shouting anti-government slogans, the activists accused the government of trying to issue the construction license when the approach road to the project site is less than 10 meters.  They pointed out that the government’s decision to arbitrarily grant license to the Raheja’s in Carmona when the matter is before the district court is nothing but dictatorship and political hubris

Orlando Da Silva said the TCP Department has issued final NOC for the Raheja to develop approximately 88,000 odd square metres of land on the banks of River Sal, into fifteen plots with the condition that no secondary permission will be granted until and unless the required access road is acquired and developed to ten meters. “Ten villagers from Carmona whose houses and compounds are likely to be axed due to this widening have knocked the doors of the District Court as per the latest amendments of Panchayat Raj Act, challenging the final NOC issued by the Village Panchayat of Carmona based on permission of the TCP department”, the memorandum said.

Orlando said the 10-metre wide mandatory road has to be physically present at site even while granting conversion sanads, leave aside any other physical development. Moreover the same TCP department had taken a stand that no secondary development would be allowed until and unless the required access road is made available while issuing NOC for subdivision which NOC is under challenge, he added.

“It is very shameful and very disgusting to know that our government who claims to be an aam admi government has decided to issue construction license to the mega builder with the condition that the road requirement of ten metres has to be put in place before occupancy certificate is issued. Later on the same Government will say that Raheja has invested huge money and therefore the same should be regularized as in the case of Cidade de Goa Hotel”, he added. “It appears that our chief minister in order to save his government from Churchill Alemao’s blackmailing tactics has taken this decision. People of Carmona unanimously opposed this project through a gram sabha resolution dated 30.03.2007. The village Regional Plan committee also resolved to oppose widening of internal village roads to maximum 5 mts width. Activists opposing the project have made all possible representations to all concerned authorities in the government including the chief secretary, chief minister, Central and local environment ministers, environment & pollution control boards of Government of Goa and Town and Country Planning Board.

They demanded to know from the chief minister and PWD minister whether the 10-metre road will come from heaven when there is no possibility of having such a road unless and until the residents houses and compounds are razed down to pave way for the road.

They further demanded to know whether the government can acquire and broaden the existing road to 10 metres only for the benefit of the mega builder at the cost of the aam admi.

Speaking on behalf of the Villagers of Goa, Filipe Pereira said the Village Groups of Goa have come out in support of the villagers of Carmona and appealed to the people of Goa to teach the government a lesson if they don’t pay heed to their grievances.

The activists later marched to the office of the district collectorate and handed over a memorandum to the Additional District Collector, Prasanna Acharya.

Meanwhile, the PWD Minister has said that the demonstration at the residence of the Chief Minister was allegedly orchestrated by former Chief Minister, Luizinho Faleiro on the eve of the inauguration of the first of his three bridges over River Sal at Telaulim on Friday.

“Faleiro is behind the demonstration. The people who participated in the demonstration were not from Carmona, barring one or two persons. The villagers of Carmona have no objection to the project”, he claimed.