Team Goemkarponn
CANACONA: Residents of Delem have intensified their opposition to a mega residential project in the area, stating that they will continue their fight until the project is scrapped in its entirety.
Addressing a press briefing, former CMC councillor Dhiraj Naik Gaonkar, along with Delem resident Narayan Naik Gaonkar, alleged that the project, comprising more than 150 residential flats, was approved without proper scrutiny of concerns raised by residents regarding its legality, environmental impact and pressure on existing infrastructure.
Naik Gaonkar claimed that residents had opposed the project from the stage when permissions were initially sought, but alleged that the concerned authorities went ahead and granted various licences despite their objections.
He also questioned the classification of the project, stating that although it is described as comprising serviced apartments, the permissions and licences issued are for residential apartments.
“From where will you supply water to this project?” Naik Gaonkar questioned, raising concerns over the additional burden the project could place on the existing public water supply system. He also questioned claims that the apartments would be sold only to locals or Goans and operated solely as serviced apartments, alleging that several flats were being sold to outsiders.
Naik Gaonkar further questioned the legality of the approach road to the project. Citing information obtained through an RTI application, he claimed that the PWD had stated that the approach road had a maximum width of 4.2 metres, while the TCP approval allegedly recorded the road width as 10 metres.
“The road to the project is itself illegal and has no acquisition. This itself amounts to a major fraud,” he alleged.
He also raised concerns over the impact of the project on basic infrastructure, including roads, water and electricity, as well as the cutting of trees in the area.
Naik Gaonkar rejected allegations made against him by landowner Praveen Naik Gaonkar and accused the latter of making personal remarks against him. He claimed that he had earlier assisted residents by addressing safety concerns posed by trees, while alleging that trees had been cut for the mega project.
Naik Gaonkar said residents would continue to oppose the project and were prepared to approach the courts if necessary to seek its scrapping.
Another Delem resident, Narayan Naik Gaonkar, also condemned what he described as personal attacks by the landowner against Dhiraj Naik Gaonkar and alleged that the landowner himself had made several allegations against residents.
The residents maintained that their opposition was not against development as such, but against what they alleged were irregularities in the approval process and the potential impact of the project on the locality and its existing infrastructure.
