Goemkrponn desk
PONDA: Ponda Municipal Council (PMC) Meeting was held today, chaired by Ritesh Naik, wherein various resolutions related to development works were passed.
Ponda MLA and Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik were present for the meeting.
Ritesh Naik said it was decided to regain the PMC land possession of the Defence Ministry. Chairperson Ritesh Naik said the agreement with Defence about Kranti Maidan land is already coming to an end, and we don’t want to continue the agreement with Defence and want this land back to PMC.
“We will write back to Defence Ministry and Goa Chief Minister requesting to hand over this land back to PMC,” he said.
The Kranti Maidan land was in Portuguese Military possession, and after Goa’s liberation, it went into the possession of Defence Ministry of India.
The total land is around 18625 square metres, and in 1991 after a lot of effort by former Chief Minister Ravi Naik and freedom fighters, then Defence Minister Sharad Pawar handed over 2530 square metres of land back to its original owner, PMC.
Still, a significant portion of land lies with Defence Ministry, which PMC want to utilise for public functions like National Importance day on 15 August, 26 January, 19 December, Ganesh Festival, Christmas festival etc., as City is facing a land shortage.
He further said it was decided to demolish the old Shastri Hall building and construct a new building after DMA approved the plan for the Shastri hall building. It was also agreed to convert the Old PHC building at Tisk Ponda into a full-fledged Library just along the lines of the Central Library at Panajim so that even students taking high education can benefit from various books related to their courses.
It was decided to remove the Lotus Fountain at the entrance of Kranti Maidan as it is a breeding ground for dengue mosquitos. Similarly, the pillars at the entrance of Kranti Maidan would be shifted to the side wall of Krantimaidan with proper lighting with freedom fighters’ names engraved on it.
It was decided to increase and widen the area of sopo tax collection in Ponda Market and collect it through auction. The Golden Jubilee project will be completed soon, and the balance amount of this project will be utilised to renovate the fish Market. Trade license renewal fees for Jewellery and other shops reduced to Rs 2000 per year.