MARCAIM: Villagers of Marcaim gheraoed town and country planning officials at Panjim protesting against the proposal of setting up of marine industrial park (MIP) in a 2 lakh square metre area in Marcaim. The villagers surrounded TCP senior town planner and another official Vinod Kumar on Monday, grilling them about the proposed park as shown in the regional plan 2021 for Ponda taluka.
The area shown for the park is an eco sensitive zone comprising mangroves and riverine area, they pointed out. The marine industrial park was not shown in the draft RP plan sent to the village during the planning process, they said. More than 250 villagers had gathered outside the TCP office at Patto.
MLA Sudin Dhavlikar has also opposed MIP in Marcaim, stating that such projects which require huge land are not required for the village. He had urged the panchayat to initiate action and inform TCP to scrap the proposal as it would prove detrimental to the environment in the area.
The government had proposed three such parks to organize marine industry in the state. The proposal envisages ship building, ship repair, building of boats, barges and other various activities related to marine industry. Marcaim sarpanch Rajendra Fatde said that the panchayat is not aware about the project.
Why is it that local villagers have to fight against abuse of authority by the powers that be, whether at Panchayat level or at State level? They have to fight in order to protect their land, to protect heritage, to protect eco-sensitive areas from destruction.
ReplyDeleteWhat is not included in the draft Regional Plan shown to the people is then included on the sly by greedy people. Are all elected members greedy for a fast buck? Is there no one to work devotedly, selflessly for the welfare of the village and of the State?