Siolim-Marna p’yat kept VDC in the dark on concrete embankment

MAPUSA
All fingers point to Siolim-Marna panchayat for trying to keep the ongoing concrete embankment of the rivulet from the eyes of prying public.
The village development committee (VDC) of the Siolim-Marna panchayat had no inkling about the work taken up by the Water Resources Development (WRD) in the rivulet.
Attempts to obtain information about the work from the panchayat were nullified as none of the panchayat members were ready to provide answers to probing questions.
"At the VDC meeting held as late as on November 18 when we questioned about the works carried out on the banks of the rivulet, the sarpanch and the other panch members in the committee told us that they did know what was going on," said Fatima Fernandes, a member of VDC and a vocal villager in the gram sabhas.
She said if the VDC which is supposed to take decisions on development projects in the village was not informed about the development works then why have a VDC at all.
"This is not fair. Even during the development of the jetty undertaken by the former minister, they did the same thing. The VDC was also not informed then," Fernandes said.
She further informed that the proposal to concretise the embankment or the beautification work was never discussed in the gram sabha and wondered what resolution was forwarded to the WRD.
A number of locals concerned about the environment and ecology slammed the
government move to concretise the embankment of the rivulet.
Expressing his resentment at the kind of development taking place in the rivulet, a local, Suvarnasangeet Vernekar said any development should be eco-friendly.
"We are not against development. But the work undertaken in the rivulet is not right. The embankment should not have been concretised. They could have used ‘godgo' (stones) for the embankment instead," said Vernekar.
Vernekar was the petitioner who had successfully moved the NGT against the development of the jetty in Siolim during the former WRD minister's term.
Another villager and an activist, Tony D'Souza said the WRD had clearly violated the CRZ norms while undertaking the work.
"Concretisation of river line is not acceptable. Development should not come at the cost of the ecology. For beautification they should have used natural resources like stones," D'Souza averred.
He said the WRD engineer was trying to fool the people that the rivulet did not come under the ambit of CRZ.
Opposing the ongoing work along the rivulet, Amrut Agarwadekar said the natural flow of the water body should not have been disturbed.
"The fish in the water body need crevices to breed and concretisation of the river bed will only spell doom to marine life in the rivulet," Agarwadekar said.
"Modernisation should take place but at the same time we have to protect what our forefathers have retained," he said.