Times of India: Panaji: Monday,
September 19, 2016.
A few
villagers, on Sunday, gathered in opposition to the work that started at the
Mini India Park project at Quelossim, which was recently cleared by the
investment promotion board (IPB).
The work had
commenced at the marshy khazan land at Quelossim, which is also the flood
plains of river Zuari and three excavators were seen at the site. A few
villagers rushed to the site and asked the site supervisor for the licence.
"We asked the site supervisor whether he had any licence, but he stated
that he was not in a position to produce it right then," said Lopinho
Xavier, a local, speaking to TOI on Sunday. The villagers also stated that no
display boards with details of the project and approvals granted have been put
up at the site.
The villagers
had opposed it in the past as well, stating that it is a CRZ I area and a
breeding ground for estuarine fishes and a roosting place for several species
of birds.
A reclamation
had been allegedly initiated illegally in an area of 900 sq m in October 2012,
barely 300 metres away from Zuari river. State rural development authority
minister Alina Saldanha had also joined the chorus against the project, saying
that the area is eco-fragile and needed to be protected.
Recently, IPB
has given a green signal to the Mini India Park project, which envisages a
display of India's heritage monuments in natural form, its multifaceted
culture, including festivals, dances and culinary delights. The park also
envisages 'setting up marine and water sports activities with houseboats',
according to what the promoter had informed Cortalim-Quelossin panchayat.
The project
was stalled many times after villagers came out in protest. But on Thursday,
the panchayat body had passed a resolution to issue a provisional no objection
certificate (NOC) to the project. Villagers alleged that the project is in
violation of CRZ notifications and there is no clearance from the Goa coastal
zone management authority (GCZMA) yet. "We have received a reply under RTI
(right to information) from GCZMA that it has not issued a clearance to the
project as yet," said Xavier.
The villagers
have also complained to south Goa collector's office about the ongoing work.
"We have asked deputy collector to check if the work is being done with
GCZMA's approval," an official in south Goa collector's office said.
.JPG)
.JPG)
