MARGAO
Government’s plan to set up an Education hub at Davorlim on the lines of Cujira-Bambolim took the centre stage at the gram sabha of Davorlim on Sunday.
The meeting chaired by sarpanch Herculean Niasso on Sunday saw members demanding that the panchayat convene an extraordinary gram sabha to discuss the issue threadbare once the government submits the plan to the village.
The members led by Andrew Rebello pointed out that the Education hub will throw up a host of issues in the village once it becomes a reality while reminding that the previous panchayats in the past had proposed public utility projects on the acquired land beneficial to the village.
When the sarpanch replied that the panchayat has to date not received any proposal from the Education department concerning the hub, the members adopted a resolution calling upon the panchayat to convene an extraordinary gram sabha meeting to discuss the issue once the government moves a proposal to the local body.
Rebello later told the media that the panchayat should take the gram sabha into confidence and brief them on how the government intends to go about the education hub when the villagers have been insisting that the government spare portion of the land to host public utility projects beneficial to the villagers. He said the panchayat should invite the local MLA, besides officials of the Education department to brief the locals on the project.
In the past, the Davorlim panchayat and the villagers had demanded that instead of utilizing the entire acquired land admeasuring 1.15 lakh square metres for the education hub, the government should spare a portion of the land for the villagers to build an ST bhavan, garbage treatment plant, a playground and a Chapel at the existing Holy Cross atop the hillock.
Another gram member told The Goan that the authorities should take care of the projected rise in traffic in Davorlim as and when the education hub becomes a reality. “The government should not wait for the education hub to become a reality to address issues about traffic. Hundreds of private cars and school buses will head to Davorlim every morning and afternoon to drop off and collect school children,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, the gram sabha also discussed the issue of garbage dark spots in the village. Sarpanch Herculean pointed out that the panchayat had cleared the five dark spots, but the waste has resurfaced. After much deliberations, the gram sabha has decided to install CCTV surveillance cameras at the dark spots.
Gram sabha also demanded to know whether Davorlim falls under village-I, II or III in respect of FAR. Member Andrew Rebello pointed out that the RTI information furnished by the panchayat is confusing with the information not shedding light on the village's status.
