The very well attended Gram Sabha on 17th October 2010 held at the Panchayat Ghar Cansaulim amidst tight police security went off peacefully. It may be recalled that the Gram Sabha held on 22th August was adjourned due to unruly mob scenes and attacks on Gram Sabha members brought in at the behest of a builder floating the controversial Gonsalves-Dias Gates mega-project with the backing of the local MLA and Panchayat members.
As soon as the minutes of the previous adjourned Gram Sabha were read out the Sarpanch Jose Manuel Fernandes admitted that the resolution for land acquisition for constructing a road in the vicinity of the controversial housing project at Cottarvaddo was wrongly recorded in the minutes by Secretary Pradeep Tamhankar when in fact such a proposal was never put to vote.
Thereafter Gram Sabha member Evans Fernandes highlighted the state of affairs in the village Panchayat office wherein there was no accountability among the administrative staff as regards to office timings and work attitude. The Sarpanch assured him to look into the matter.
Next one of the Gram Sabha member’s brought to the notice of the house that vide Panchayat body resolution No 9 of 5th August 08 it was resolved to get the services of one engineer and surveyor as and when needed, to check for illegalities in projects and building files of the village. However if any project file is being passed by the Panchayat in violation of the said resolution the damages if any, claimed by the builder of project which are subsequently proved to be illegal should be recovered from the personal accounts of individual Panch members after fixing responsibilities for being party to licensing such projects. To this Panch member Ferwin Saldanha accused the Gram Sabha member of fabricating evidence of such a resolution to this the member produced the minutes of the VP Body Meeting of 5/8/08 obtained under the RTI Act and the House witnessed a visibly embarrassed Mr Saldanha sheepishly taking his seat.
In the din a long time elected Panch Martha Saldanha the self styled iron lady of the village was heard saying that “the Gram Sabha is nobody and has no powers”! She opined that the matter of the controversial mega project is ‘ subjudice” and the matter is pending with the Director of Panchayats. To this a Gram Sabha member countered her by saying that the Director of Panchayat is a quasi-judicial authority and that the elected Panches cannot abdicate their responsibilities and should act and revoke the license given to the builder forthright to uphold the law.
The Gram Sabha ended with the final resolution tabled by Sheela Gracias on the doubling of the railway line by the South Western railway. The Cansaulim Gram Sabha rejected and opposed the proposal of the Indian railways to expand the existing rail track and loop it to the Konkan railway track for the following reasons.
- The existing rail track passes through the area which has the highest population density in the villages.
- The existing the track is in close vicinity of age old heritage houses and other heritage habitat and the constant movement of rail traffic would cause vibrations which could damage the heritage houses and most of them are or very close to 100 years of age or more.
- The railway station is in the heart of the village and there is absolutely no space for expansion of the same.
- The village Panchayat area is a low density heritage fabric area and a scenic coastal zone as acknowledged in the RPG 2021.
- Parking of goods trains at odd hours near the houses has been causing number of damages and they are continuously in need of undergoing repair jobs.
- Vibration owing to rail traffic has caused cracks in old heritage homes and further expansion plans would prove catastrophic.
- The vibration and noise pollution even in the dead of night will cause major physical and mental health problems to the residents of the village.
- Goods carrying trains which will be carrying mainly mineral ore through the village as the expansion plans are being executed by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd and this Port connectivity project, shall cause atmospheric pollution through heavy dust and pose a major health hazard to the residents of the village giving rise to pulmonary diseases of epidemic proportions.
- The railway line passes very close to a place of Christian worship the St. Lawrence Chapel at Arossim and further expansion will call for demolition of the century old chapel besides disturbing the tranquility of the village.
- The Cansaulim–Arossim–Cuelim village boasts of livestock and agricultural land which will be endangered owing to the proposed heavy rail road traffic.
- It is resolved that the villagers will not permit our beautiful scenic coastal heritage village to be exploited and our people and live stock be maimed for life or sometimes struck dead for the commercial gains of chosen few as the railway board has verified that the entire doubling of railway line project should be executed by the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. As this is a Port connectivity project for the MPT to facilitate transport of mining ore through our pristine villages.
Dr. Marconi Correia appealed to the Gram Sabhas of other villages like Velsao, Utorda, Majorda, Sancoale and Chicalim who too are adversely affected by the railway proposal to join hands and collectively reject the doubling of the railway line from Vasco to Margao.
18 comments:
The attacks by the Sarpanch Jose Manuel Fernandes and the obviously devious and corrupt Martha Saldanha and Ferwin Saldanha on the Gram Sabha needs to be condemned by all. This is the sorry state of affairs in Goa today.
The Cansaulim Gram Sabha has been at the forefront in holding democratic traditions. It is shocking how their own Sarpanch Jose Manuel Fernandes and Panch members like Martha Saldanha and Ferwin Saldanha are all out to destroy their own village working with evil builders like Agnelo Alcacoas and Aboobakr Shaikh who have the backing of the local MLA Mauvin Godinho!
Martha Saldanha's attack on the Gram Sabha is shocking and is an attack on the grass roots of democracy and Panchayati Raj. This self-styled dictator's comments that “the Gram Sabha is nobody and has no powers” needs to be reported to the Directorate of Panchayats and an investigation needs to be conducted and she should be dismissed from represnting the villages of Cansaulim!
Likewise the Cansaulim Sarpanch and the Panchayat members like Martha Saldanha and Ferwin Saldanha should be held accountable for their role in abetting the illegalities and irregularities in the highly controversial hosuing projects and not following up on the resolutions of the Gram Sabha.
Matters with the Dy. Dir. of Panchayats or with Director of Panchayats does not mean the matter is Sub-Judice.
Sub-judice is when disputes are taken up by the Court of Law i.e. either Civil or Criminal Courts.
The Dy. Dir. & Director of Panchayats are just an authority to take up Public grievances against the Panchayats for not governing/taking right decisions in accordance with the Panchayat Act.
Tha Panchayat, if they realise they have done wrong, can always correct the wrong and inform the Dir. of Panchayats that the wrong is righted.
With more politicians taking hold of Panchayats, they teach them to bull-shit people. You cannot fool people all the time, specially Cansaulim who have people more learned than the MLA himself.
The truth of the matter is that the Sarpanch Jose Manuel Fernandes of Cansaulim and these Panchayat Members Martha Saldanha and Ferwin Sladanha are nothing but crooks who have sold their souls to the devil and will stoop to any level to see the destruction of their own village.
The villagers of Cansaulim need our moral support in their fight to stand up against these evil and destructive forces. Great show by the Gram Sabha of Cansaulim in light of all the political and powerful lobbying that is taking place in the village at the behest of the corrupt MLA Mauvin Godinho and these corrupt dogs who are part of the Panchayat to suit only their own interests and will lick the boots of builders like Aboobakr Shaikh and bAgnelo Alcacoas.
We Goans support the villagers of Cansaulim to protect and save their village from all these evil forces!
Very well said Anonymous the VIII! Even you and many others on the Niz Goenkar could teach this corrupt Sarpanch and Panchayat members and the grand-father of corrupt politicians that the people are not fools!
Cansaulim Gram Sabha have to be commended for not allowing their corrupt Sarpanch and Panch members take them for fools.
What a tragedy that their own elected representatives plot with the MLA Mauvin Godinho to destroy their beautiful village.
Dear Readers, wake up the Antonette amongst yourself and let the message of Niz Goenkars reach every nook and corner. Let each one of us become Antonette from Internet and spread the message.
I am glad that people from Cansaulim are responding here. Make awareness amongst Goans that it is high time to throw out these Chors of Goa.
God save us from corrupt politicians and Panchayat members out to destroy our Goan villages.
The betrayal by Sarpanch Jose Manuel Fernandes ( and Panch members Ferwin Saldanha (Bonkan Bott) and Martha Saldanha because of their greed is evident to all.
Goa and Goans are at the mercy of these corrupt ministers and Panchayat Members. The matter may be resolved today but these corrupt guys will find loop holes to rekindle the matter. A permanent lid needs to be in place through awareness and unity.
I'm sure the Sarpanch and these Panch members must have been trying to acquire land from the poor villagers of Cansaulim by this crooked way to benefit those builders Aboobakr Shaikh and Agnel Alcacoas. In fact they have even cut a coconut trees illegally belonging to a Priest of the village.
From the newspaper repotrts they had even brought non-Goan outsiders to attack the Gram Sabha at the previous meeting.
Now this Martha Saldanha and Ferwin Saldanha are trying their level best. Who is this xapotin Martha Saldanha to tell the Gram Sabha that they are nobody and have no powers? Does she have no respect for the Gram Sabha which is the cradle for self-governance?
Ferwin Saldanha seems to be a very crafty rogue and was exposed.
Good these villagers exposed these monsters for what they truly are.
I agree with you Diogo - as we are well aware that always the MLA calls the shots with his far reaching powers and control over the TCP, Directorate of Panchayats who are nothing but rubber stamps to do the bidding of the MLA. The Government Machinery is as corrupt as the MLA.
The Panchayat members are the crooks at the village level who are horribly corrupt and then get their kickbacks from the builders and instead attack the Gram Sabha members.
This is the plight of Goa and Goans today. We need to expose this and work to get rid of these corrupt parties.
It is so good to see our people United and 'fighting' these evil forces. We must 'fight', even though it has not been part of our nature, it is the only way we are going to survive against purely evil forces in Goa. The devil is alive and well in Goa! Keep up the fight! Our ancestors are looking down on us and are proud of you all! Viva Goa!
More villages in Goa are getting wiser how their MLAs and Panchayat members are not there to serve the villagers but there only to loot and steal and pass all sorts of illegal projects which do not benefit the people.
Villagers of Cansaulim we are behind you and you are showing us the way how to protect our villages.
Viva Goa! Viva Niz Goenkar!
Every few days I read in the news about how the villagers of Cansaulim are fighting against this unscruplous poitician Mauvin Godinho and how their own Panchayat is working to destroy their village with these builders who are trying their level best to cheat the villagers.
To the villagers of Cansaulim we back you in your fight to protect your village and Goa.
Do not be afraid and keep up your fight for justice and victory will be yours.
You are right about it Diogo a permanent lid is needed. The government intentionally is not passing the Regional Plan 2021 because of these reasons.
Those bent on destroying Cansaulim village will not have their way. Likewise our corrupt politicans and Panchayat members in each and every village of Goa we are watching you. Soon you will all be taught a lesson for destroying Goa and our villages and towns.
God bless the brave villagers of Cansaulim who are fighting to save their village from these evil forces. You are an example to us all. Now other villagers in Verna, Sancoale, Dabolim are also waking up in your example and not letting themselves be exploited and trampled.
You are showing us the way to take on not only your own Sarpanch and Panchayat members and also the Railway and all these builders but even the MLA who has all his evil designs to destroy his Constituency.
May you see success in your struggle to save your village.
when we come across such things being created by these rogue politicians our temperature shoots up in distress. We are all at Niz Goenkar are shouting May day, May day… for some help. Hope we get some help from our true Goans in eliminating them in the next election so they never show their faces again in politics.
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