The lone farmer who waged a war to stop quarries in Uguem - HERALD

The lone farmer who waged a war to stop quarries in Uguem October 14, 2012 ALFRED FERNANDES bureau@herald-goa.com SANGUEM: As a farmer, Francisco Camilo Carvalho – better known as ‘Non’ in his village of Uguem-Sanguem – had virtually nothing to do with basalt stone quarrying operations in the village. But when he was hauled up and forced to spend a night behind bars after being accused of confronting a quarry worker, Carvalho decided to wage a lone battle against all quarry operators in the village. His prolonged struggle finally bore fruits when the Mines department ordered the suspension of basalt stone quarry operations in Uguem on Thursday and also issued a show-cause notice to the quarry operators for undertaking quarrying beyond the lease areas granted by the Department as reported exclusively by HERALD. “My house is located barely 300 metres from one quarry and we simply could not bear up with constant blasting operations. One day, I requested the quarry operator to minimise the blasting operations and this led to a verbal duel between the two of us,” recalled Carvalho. Carvalho claimed that the quarry operator then filed a police complaint accusing him of abuse and assault. “Without a preliminary enquiry, an official at the Sanguem police station slapped me and put me behind bars. I was released on bail the next day, but I decided that enough is enough. I was now determined to stop illegal quarry operations in my village.” Carvalho initially approached various authorities, including the panchayat, collector and the police, requesting them to take action against the quarry operations. “These authorities did little to stop the illegal quarries. Worse still, I got virtually no support from fellow residents. In fact, a resolution moved by me at a Gram Sabha in 2011, demanding action against illegal quarry operations, had to be seconded by my wife as no one at the Gram Sabha dared to seek action against the illegal operations,” said Carvalho. Acting on Carvalho’s repeated complaints, authorities conducted a first site inspection in 2011 and admitted to the illegalities, but took no action to stop the operations. Following another complaint, authorities conducted a second site inspection earlier this year. “In one such inspection, authorities admitted that the illegal extraction of basalt stones had been to the tune of Rs 1,25,44,000,” said Carvalho. Pessimistic over the outcome of these site inspections, Carvalho began to collect information from various departments under Right to Information Act. Armed with various documents, Carvalho filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court. The High Court had issued directions to the Mines department and Goa State Pollution Control Board to verify the quantum of illegalities by quarry operators and to inspect if the quarry operations were within the lease areas. The PIL was disposed by the High Court after the State government filed an affidavit assuring action against illegal quarry operations. Authorities then conducted a third site inspection and finally issued an order to suspend quarry operations in Uguem. Carvalho is now being hailed by fellow residents for single-handedly fighting against the might of six quarry operators. “I am elated that the government has finally issued the suspension order. I am grateful to my family for supporting me in this battle as well as those who drafted my petitions and my advocate, Valmiki Menezes, for filing the PIL on my behalf,” acknowledges Carvalho. http://www.heraldgoa.in/News/Main%20Page%20News/The-lone-farmer-who-waged-a-war-to-stop-quarries-in-Uguem/65624.html