Times Panchanama: Socorro-Bardez
Isidore Domnick Mendes
The tranquil and serene village of Socorro in Bardez, is fast seeing
its pristine countryside vanishing and being replaced by ugly chunks of
concrete; huge apartment complexes that stick out like sore thumbs in
quaint neighbourhoods.
The village has a population of 10,000
who live in seven vaddos including Zosvaddo, Ambirna, Maina, Arrarim,
Carrem, Vaddem, and Porvorim. The village is bordered by Ucassaim and
Guirim in the north, Pomburpa and Salvador do Mundo in the east, Pilerne
in the South, and Penha de Franca in the west. This village is famed
for its cashew plantations, kokam, pottery and timber.
The
threat to Socorro comes from the real estate lobby which has caused
encroachments on comunidade land, felling of trees, erection of slums in
private forests and land grabbing, either by filing false cases against
villagers or blatantly taking over unoccupied houses, whose residents
are abroad.
With the regional plan yet to be finalized,
builders have been making hay, while the government departments look the
other way. "In Socorro, construction is being allowed in private
forests, on hill slopes and agriculture areas. No environment impact
assessment and land-carrying capacity studies have been done," says
Soter D'Souza, a former panchayat member, activist and resident of
Maina. Angry villagers also point accusing fingers at government
departments for being hand-in-glove with the land sharks.
"TCP
indiscriminately shows the forest or agriculture land as settlement. The
collectorate permits land use conversion merely on this pretext as
forwarded by TCP. Law department only plays a role by facilitating laws
which are ambiguous and allots various task to various agencies to
provide loopholes," says D'Souza.
"Huge amounts of comunidade
land also have been encroached upon by squatters with the support of
politicians who have used them as political vote banks," he added.
Villagers point out that local politicians are also builders with links
with the real estate lobby.
"Biodiversity in Porvorim has been
ignored by the planners and many constructions are coming up in the
area. The open spaces are being utilized by the buildings and there is
hardly any open space available. Projects are coming up on hill slopes.
They are sinking bore wells. Some are constructing illegal wells which
will affect the water table and the locals have to face the brunt of
it," D'Souza added.
Says Eurico Mascarenhas of Alto Porvorim,
"Politicians are completely hand-in-glove with the real estate lobby.
Mushrooming of projects can be seen in many parts of the village."
A year ago, Socorro was in the news when a property in Porvorim
bequeathed by late Jose Avito Pinto do Rosario, uncle to the former
captain of India's woman hockey team, Otilia Mascarenhas, was grabbed by
land sharks. As witnessed in many parts of Goa, grabbing of property
takes place when owners are overseas. In the case of Mascarenhas, an
Arjuna awardee and sports surgeon practicing abroad, her property was
grabbed using fake documents.
While villagers say the Porvorim
plateau is almost finished, the latest proposal for 500 flats is another
blow to the village's ecology.
"Look at the encroachments on
the NH 17. The 40m setback rule has been thrown into the bin. The land
is full of illegal constructions from Guirim to the assembly complex.
The government must demolish all these illegal structures," says
Mascarenhas. "How can the proposed highway be broadened with the rampant
illegal constructions coming up along it? This gives the government a
perfect excuse to divert the highway, bring it into the village and
encroach into the fields," added Mascarenhas, a former football player
at Dempo SC and MRF.
"The aesthetics of Socorro is being
sacrificed with the construction of high-rise buildings in Porvorim and
other areas in the village," says Michael Rodrigues of Alto Porvorim.
Rodrigues further adds that real estate projects have put tremendous
pressure on local infrastructure. "If real estate projects do not stop,
very soon, Socorro will face a dire situation in terms of drinking
water, electricity and garbage management.""Development is mandatory. We
are not against development. But it shouldn't be done at the cost of
degrading the environment. Illegal constructions should be kept in
check," says Aditya Barve, a doctor.
Locals also say that
springs in the village which flow through the hills, are being affected
due to big complexes being constructed in their path. "The stream of
water that was coming down from the hills is being blocked due to
construction. The authorities ignored the voices of the villagers, and
the building complex came up at Ambirna. The builder also built a well
without permission," says Linda D'Souza.
"Projects of 4-5 storey buildings should not be allowed in villages. They change the very character of any village," she added.
Says noted brand consultant Cajetan Vaz, who is also a Socorro
resident. "Buying a flat in a complex opened my eyes to the load that
people like me were putting onto a village that was self-sufficient
before the real estate onslaught. I was putting pressure on the water
supply, adding to the traffic congestion, reducing the green cover,
polluting the ground water and contributing to the septic tank. The main
drawback is the absence of a proper sewage system, causing new
constructions to depend on soak pits and septic tanks which are ticking
health time bombs. I hope this will change for the better," says Vaz.
Sarpanch Sonia Pednekar blames the previous panchayat bodies for
granting permissions to real estate projects. "The panchayat members
elected in the 2012 elections have not encouraged or given permission to
any real estate projects. The panchayat is totally against real estate
projects and it will never allow big projects like 500 flats to come up
the village," she said.
When contacted, Porvorim MLA Rohan
Khaunte said that the encroachments on the highway and on comunidade
land has to be blamed on the previous Congress and current BJP
governments. "With regard to encroachment on comunidade land or on the
national highway, vacant plots allotted to people should be scrutinized
and taken back if a violation is found. As for owners who have already
built houses on comunidade land, their structures should not be
demolished as they have been living there for a long time. But, the
corrupt officials or politicians who were involved in facilitating the
illegitimate transfer of land should be punished," he said.
Top View
The panchayat is totally against real estate projects and it will never
allow big projects like 500 flats to come up the village
Sonia Pednekar, sarpanch
Corrupt officials and politicians must be punished for illegal encroachments on comunidade land and the NH 17
Rohan Khaunte, MLA
People's take
Construction is being allowed in private forests, on hill slopes and agriculture areas
Soter D'Souza, resident
Politicians are completely hand-in-glove with the real estate lobby
Eurico Mascarenhas, resident
The aesthetics of Socorro is being sacrificed with the construction of
high-rise buildings in Porvorim and other areas in the village
Michael Rodrigues, resident
Problem Problem
No Streetlights
A few years ago, the Infotech Corporation of Goa Ltd (ITG) installed
fancy streetlights along the roads of Socorro to lead to the proposed IT
Park. The villagers won a court battle preventing the IT Park being
constructed in private forest land. But, the street lights have also
stopped working. The ward of Maina is particularly affected. MLA Rohan
Khaunte recently expressed his helplessness to the residents saying that
it was tough to fix the streetlights erected by ITG. But, villagers
told TOI that the electricity department could install normal tubelights
on the same poles instead of leaving the roads in darkness.
Footpaths, Stray Dogs
Pedestrians find it difficult not only to cross NH 17, but, even
internal roads due to speeding vehicles. "It is sad that no one has
concern for safety of person on foot," says Soter D'Souza. "The stray
dog menace is also quite severe in vaddos closer to the highway like
Alto Porvorim, Arrarim etc," says Eurico Mascarenhas.
Migrant Influx
Villagers are getting increasingly insecure with the ever-increasing
number of migrants. "Socorro has become a hotspot for migrants. A local
is not even aware when a migrant has arrived and when he has left. It
has also led to a sense of insecurity among locals due to cases of theft
and robbery committed by outsiders," says Michael Rodrigues.
Trivia
Socorro has been home to famous sons and daughters of Goa. They include
airforce pilot, wing commander Clarence Joseph D'Lima, who on November
4, 1977, captained 'Pushpak Rath', the plane carrying then Prime
Minister Moraji Desai. D'Lima crash-landed the plane in Assam, but, died
in the process with Desai escaping unhurt. Others, who hail from
Socorro, include late Dr Antonio Pinto do Rosario, mayor of the Camara
Municipal de Bardez; supercop Julio Ribeiro, the IPS officer who served
as commissioner of Mumbai, director general of Gujarat police, and was
chief of Punjab police when the state was in turmoil during the
Khalistan movement. Noted architect Edgar Ribeiro; Edward de Lima,
educationist and writer; Dr Victor Rangel Ribeiro, literary stalwart; Dr
Leonora Rangel Ribeiro, co-founder of ACDIL High School, Porvorim, and
late Fr Vasco Luis de Souza, the original 'builder priest' in Goa who
went around building schools and other infrastructure in parishes where
he was posted.
(With inputs from Flexcia D'Souza and Lorraine Paiva)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Threatened-by-land-sharks/articleshow/46361902.cms
