LANDMARK RESOLUTIONS PASSED AT CANSAULIM GRAM SABHA by Roger D'Souza

The very well attended Gram Sabha on 17th October 2010 held at the Panchayat Ghar Cansaulim amidst tight police security went off peacefully. It may be recalled that the Gram Sabha held on 22th August was adjourned due to unruly mob scenes and attacks on Gram Sabha members brought in at the behest of a builder floating the controversial Gonsalves-Dias Gates mega-project with the backing of the local MLA and Panchayat members.

As soon as the minutes of the previous adjourned Gram Sabha were read out the Sarpanch Jose Manuel Fernandes admitted that the resolution for land acquisition for constructing a road in the vicinity of the controversial housing project at Cottarvaddo was wrongly recorded in the minutes by Secretary Pradeep Tamhankar when in fact such a proposal was never put to vote.

Thereafter Gram Sabha member Evans Fernandes highlighted the state of affairs in the village Panchayat office wherein there was no accountability among the administrative staff as regards to office timings and work attitude. The Sarpanch assured him to look into the matter.

Next one of the Gram Sabha member’s brought to the notice of the house that vide Panchayat body resolution No 9 of 5th August 08 it was resolved to get the services of one engineer and surveyor as and when needed, to check for illegalities in projects and building files of the village. However if any project file is being passed by the Panchayat in violation of the said resolution the damages if any, claimed by the builder of project which are subsequently proved to be illegal should be recovered from the personal accounts of individual Panch members after fixing responsibilities for being party to licensing such projects. To this Panch member Ferwin Saldanha accused the Gram Sabha member of fabricating evidence of such a resolution to this the member produced the minutes of the VP Body Meeting of 5/8/08 obtained under the RTI Act and the House witnessed a visibly embarrassed Mr Saldanha sheepishly taking his seat.

In the din a long time elected Panch Martha Saldanha the self styled iron lady of the village was heard saying that “the Gram Sabha is nobody and has no powers”! She opined that the matter of the controversial mega project is ‘ subjudice” and the matter is pending with the Director of Panchayats. To this a Gram Sabha member countered her by saying that the Director of Panchayat is a quasi-judicial authority and that the elected Panches cannot abdicate their responsibilities and should act and revoke the license given to the builder forthright to uphold the law.

The Gram Sabha ended with the final resolution tabled by Sheela Gracias on the doubling of the railway line by the South Western railway. The Cansaulim Gram Sabha rejected and opposed the proposal of the Indian railways to expand the existing rail track and loop it to the Konkan railway track for the following reasons.

1. The existing rail track passes through the area which has the highest population density in the villages.
2. The existing the track is in close vicinity of age old heritage houses and other heritage habitat and the constant movement of rail traffic would cause vibrations which could damage the heritage houses and most of them are or very close to 100 years of age or more.
3. The railway station is in the heart of the village and there is absolutely no space for expansion of the same.
4. The village Panchayat area is a low density heritage fabric area and a scenic coastal zone as acknowledged in the RPG 2021.
5. Parking of goods trains at odd hours near the houses has been causing number of damages and they are continuously in need of undergoing repair jobs.
6. Vibration owing to rail traffic has caused cracks in old heritage homes and further expansion plans would prove catastrophic.
7. The vibration and noise pollution even in the dead of night will cause major physical and mental health problems to the residents of the village.
8. Goods carrying trains which will be carrying mainly mineral ore through the village as the expansion plans are being executed by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd and this Port connectivity project, shall cause atmospheric pollution through heavy dust and pose a major health hazard to the residents of the village giving rise to pulmonary diseases of epidemic proportions.
9. The railway line passes very close to a place of Christian worship the St. Lawrence Chapel at Arossim and further expansion will call for demolition of the century old chapel besides disturbing the tranquility of the village.
10. The Cansaulim–Arossim–Cuelim village boasts of livestock and agricultural land which will be endangered owing to the proposed heavy rail road traffic.
11. It is resolved that the villagers will not permit our beautiful scenic coastal heritage village to be exploited and our people and live stock be maimed for life or sometimes struck dead for the commercial gains of chosen few as the railway board has verified that the entire doubling of railway line project should be executed by the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. As this is a Port connectivity project for the MPT to facilitate transport of mining ore through our pristine villages.

Dr. Marconi Correia appealed to the Gram Sabhas of other villages like Velsao, Utorda, Majorda, Sancoale and Chicalim who too are adversely affected by the railway proposal to join hands and collectively reject the doubling of the railway line from Vasco to Margao.