Team Goemkarponn
CANACONA: Determined to protect their village’s common lands and biodiversity, the Citizens Committee of Loliem-Polem (CCLP) has launched a door-to-door campaign to raise awareness about conserving local plateaus, which they describe as vital for water resources, grazing, agriculture, wildlife, and environmental balance.
“These plateaus are critical to our survival,” said Manoj (Dutta Prasad) Prabhugaonkar, chair of the village Biodiversity Management Committee. “We have passed Gram Sabha resolutions that are the law of the land, yet the village communidade is ignoring them and processing land grants for non-traditional uses.”
Former sarpanch Shailesh Pagi condemned what he called “blatantly illegal” attempts to sell common land. Environmentalist Dennis Fernandes warned that destroying the plateau’s biodiversity would threaten the village’s future, accusing communidade leaders of ignoring local protests and Gram Sabha mandates that earlier forced the IIT project out of the area.
