Adv Carlos alleges massive conversion of no development slopes in the guise of ‘correction’
PANAJI: Aldona Congress MLA Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira on Monday alleged that no development slopes were being rapidly converted into settlement areas especially in the Aldona constituency and cited several cases where he said have witnessed massive deforestation under the newly amended provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act.
“People want to live on top of the hill in forested areas, they feel they get serenity, peace and they want to live with nature. They are destroying the forests, they are destroying nature and they are destroying our villages and this is kind of a thing if we allow this to happen,” Adv Carlos said.
He cited several cases in Aldona constituency where this has taken place.
“Aldrin Alberto Araujo e Soares from Arrarim Socorro Porvorim Bardez, whose property at survey no. 79/2 at Ucassaim Bardez,which has natural cover NDS and is shown as a settlement and it is an area of 47,258K sq m. This is the pattern in which the change of zone or correction is sought to be made. Because this is a densely forested area and this is having a lot of forest tree species. This land is directly above Zagbai temple in Ucassaim and then they clear the forest and then they apply for the permission,” Ferreira said.
Escalate Resorts Pvt Ltd, represented by Colin Curry, 24/1 in Corjuem and orchard which is made into a settlement of 26,000 square metres. Anil Kumar Tyagi, from Moira Bardez had survey No 40/10-A of Paliem corrected from orchard to settlement of an area of 3850 sq m. This land also belonged to the Ticlo family, this is also above the Zagbai temple made from orchard to settlement. In Paliem zone change or correction applied by Adelaide Fernandes it is 13,200 sq m. There is no development slope which has been changed into settlement, he stated.
“I have no problem if genuinely some area was wrongly classified from one to another and therefore you seek correction. It is not like this. You can see these kinds of things happen and the no development slopes get cut and it becomes a problem,” he also said.
“Goa is a land blessed with abundant beauty from rivers to hills, beaches to forests, to fields, small houses and heritage houses. Goa everyone knows, is magical. Mental frame of anyone who comes to Goa changes. Delhi and Mumbai are choking with cities like this being totally overpopulated. People are making a beeline to either buy lands or capture lands in Goa. Earlier there was a craze to buy land along the beach or on the beach belt. Today the demand is to seek lands in forests, hills, slopes, including no development slopes and other untouched areas,” he said. .
“The kind of development invading our beautiful Goa will end up in us Goans suffering a paradise lost. The hills and forests are sacred. Our forefathers have left them untouched; many of them have religious importance. We should not touch these lands for a few to enjoy at the cost of destruction of the economy and the local ecology and local village,” he also said.
He also accused his predecessor and former BJP MLA Glenn Ticlo of being “3rd class”.
“I’m not into real estate, I’m not a broker and I’m not a lawyer for real estate companies. But when certain politicians attempt to spread false rumours to suggest as if I have a hand in such an accelerated rate of development, especially in my constituency I need to nip this in the bud. Our ex-MLA who is not just into real estate but is a broker and agent to pass files of non Goans seeks to accuse me of being a broker and trying to settle old scores. And I think that this needs to be attended because this is totally 3rd class,” he said.
“First he puts a post on his employees FB page claiming that I am trying to do something there. And there when there is no traction. He starts putting out WhatsApp messages from his own phone, to show that I am in league with the government. As if I’m the broker who’s setting out to finish the constituency,” he said.
“One of the panch members told me that he was pushing a file for 14 bungalows in Survey No 122/1a of Moira. 14 villas are coming there. And in Aldona when one Kaushik Banerjee had an issue with the Comunidade of Boa Esperanca for which Aldona Panchayat issued a notice or some order. Who appears in that matter? None other than his son,” he said.
“He has now opened another real estate firm, where he has taken over some land in Bastora, where he’s building a house, where he’s got power of attorney of Charmaine Baptista and he’s got now a new partnership firm called T&S holdings and estate. All the licences are in the name of this Baptista and nothing is in his name. These kinds of activities are not just by him, but many others are putting up a facade of showing Goan names in the front and doing the development in the back. In addition he has got his own ex-PA who is doing his work for all these non Goan parties who are buying lands destroying hills, forests and our sacred places,” he also said.
Instead of piecemeal changes, he demanded that the Department draft a new regional plan with a new horizon period.
Speaking on the issue of Municipal Administration Adv Carlos sought that repeated extensions not be given to staff of municipalities and the City Corporation but instead demanded that staff who have been working for years have not been regularised.
He cited judgements of the Supreme Court to point out that irregular appointments, provided they were not illegal could be regularised if they have been working for more than ten years
“In Mapusa municipality there are a lot of staff for for over 10 years. One staff for over 16 years who can be regularised and she is there waiting in hope and she has got a family. So I think it is justified,” he said.
Among other issues he raised are that of garbage collection, footpaths, encroachments and municipality workers, working at the houses of the councillors.
Regarding tree cutting permissions he demanded that the procedure be streamlined and also called on the forest department to modernise their staff with fire watch towers, night vision goggles and drones to fight forest forest using funds from the Climate Change mitigation project of the Union Government.
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