Benaulim locals threaten to take to streets

BY HERALD REPORTERMARGAO, JUNE 24 –
Agitated Benaulim villagers under the banner of Benaulim Villagers Action Committee warned of taking to the streets if the panchayat fails to address the genuine grievances of the villagers on the mega projects. The activists called on the acting Sarpanch Stanley and other panchayat officials on Tuesday morning to find out whether the stop work order notices were signed by the outgoing Sarpanch Maria Fernandes instead of the Panchayat Secretary.
Benaulim villagers on Monday were told by Additional Director of Panchayats, Melvyn Vaz that the stop work did not hold good because the orders were signed by the Sarpanch and not by the Panchayat Secretary. The activists warned the Panchayat not to fool around with the sentiments of the people, while demanding immediate action against the housing projects. BVAC spokesman Geraldine Fernandes told Herald that the Panchayat should stop playing with the sentiments of the villagers and threatened to take to the streets if the local body fails to address grievances of the locals.
The acting Sarpanch told Herald that the people had come to inquire into the procedure followed by the panchayat while issuing stop work order notices. He said though the Additional Panchayat Director said such notices ought to the signed by the Panchayat Secretary, the secretary has contended that BDO had issued a circular stating that such notices have to be signed by the Sarpanch.
“This blame game is not acceptable to the villagers. This whole thing is taking a vicious circle. The villagers want justice. The people are angry. They are asking the Executive Committee why the Panchayat has not implemented the gram sabha resolutions relating to Alisha Constructions till date”, Geraldine said, while warning that people will be forced to take to the streets to seek justice.

text of GGRM memorandum

GGRM/2008/01
23 June, 2008
Memorandum
The Ganv Ghor Rakhonn Manch, a Collective of Village-level movements in Goa to protect the rights of the people to a clean environment and socially just development of their villages, strongly protests the ex parte stay granted bythe Directorate of Panchayats, Government of Goa, to various Developers ofprojects without affording even the Sarpanch or representative of the concerned Village Panchayat an opportunity to be heard by the quasi-judicial officer ofthe Directorate of Panchayats and state its say in the matter under appeal. This is highly objectionable because the appeal is against a Stop Work order issued by a duly elected Panchayat, after due application of mind and resolutionof the body based on a direction of the Gram Sabha that is binding on thePanchayat as per the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 [Please see Chapter 2, Section6 subsection 4 of the said Act.].
This is all the more intriguing because eachof the Village Panchayats, ofwhich the Stop Work Order is under appeal by the Developer, functions under the control and direction of the Directorate of PanchayatAdministration that is issuing ex parte stay orders against it.
Therefore, the Ganv Ghor Rakhonn Manch demands as under:
1. That officials of the Directorate of Panchayats [DPA], Government of Goa, should not grant a stay on the operation of a STOP WORK Order or any other order of any Village Panchayat without giving the Sarpanch or duly authorized representative of the concerned Village Panchayat, an opportunity to be heard on the matter and state his say.
2. That the operation of all ex parte Stay Orders of the Directorate of Panchayats against the Stop Work orders of the Village Panchayats bevacated or held in abeyance and intimated to the respective Developers byspecial messenger or through the Village Panchayat concerned.
3. That the authority of the Village Panchayat, through its duly electedSarpanch, over the immovable property within the jurisdiction of the Panchayatfor specific functions as provided under the GPR Act, 1994, [GPR Act 1994] after following the proper procedure as laid down under the said Act and rules thereunder, be recognized and respected by the Directorate of Panchayats in all matters concerning each village in Goa.
4. The right of the people of the village to raise specific questions on construction in the immovable property in the respective village area under Section 6 (1) of the GPR Act, 1994, be recognized and respected by the DPA.
5. That the action of the Village Panchayat as per Section 6 (4) of the GoaPanchayat Raj Act, 1994, in pursuance to the Gram Sabha resolution be recognized and respected by the DPA as mandated by the law.
sd/
-Convener GGRM

To,
The Director of Panchayats,
Government of Goa
3rd Floor, 3rd Lift,Junta House, Panaji-Goa.

GGRM protests against Director of Panchayat

check for more pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/pravinsabnis/GGRMDirOfPanchayats23jun08

GGRM has mail

Dear all,
As any passionate Goan who cares for Goa, its people & our future & its merry culture, I would like to commend the valiant efforts of Ganv Ghor Rakhonn Manch for putting up a brave front that the majority now feels is in working. It is really truly heartening to see the number of people who are seeing the light and understand that the system can be changed and they have in it to change it for the better of our Goa & its people. Please keep up the good job even if you come across some idiotic Goans who have a wrapped sense of life and oppose your good efforts, in my opinion they stand for nothing in life and probably do so intentionality to save their surreal real-estate fantasies and with objectives to only confuse the situation n stall us from doing anything positive, they invite nothing but the wrath of the locals.
Whenever I get asked the question so where are you from? My reply - "Goa", to which most people beam up like a light bulb with the sheer exuberant beauty of the place and say.... Goa !!!! Wow it’s a really beautiful place jolly people you bunch'... I plan on going there again soon.
I sincerely hope we Goans realise how blessed we are to receive that harmonious response because of our famous beautiful state and its rich merry culture and hopefully they all will make it more beautiful by their presence and celebrate all things Goan, "Why sell Paradise when you own it" should be the motto instead of "Get Rich or Die tryin..."
Yours Sincerely, Rick C Fernandes

Congratulations to you on the wonderful work you are doing for Goa and Goans and thank you for all the hard work for saving our Bangarachem Goem from the Land sharks and the Builders. We have posted an article from Ganv-ghor blog on the rally in Calangute as we thought share this with the rest of the Goan World and our listeners. We would like to do this in the future as well. Please let us know if we have your permission to do so. We have also put up a link on RadioGoa to this Blog.
Best Wishes Benedict Lobo

Don't you think that land mafia and land abuses are linked with drug mafias? If you think deep, the drug lords have almost bought the police stations and they are the cause of all our pains in Goa and name destroyers, IF the police / government do not accept bribery and run the country by the book and the fear of law then everything would be smooth running but would there be a chance of doing this? no way! Goa has been corrupted ever since the drugs entered in the country many years back, the government couldn't do anything about it then.. and don't expect any changes to happen now when the problem has excelled... this of course includes grabbing of land from the poor peasants who own a small piece of field where they grow their own crop as means of survival... there should be a deal or contract drawn up that IF they want the land then they should not only pay lumpsum but also employ and accommodate those owners of the land in their businesses without compromising..
Thank you Maria Gomes for GOA


In my own village of Keri, gramsabha passed a unanimous resolution asking the government to scrap the plans by CIPLA to construct industrial units on the Bhootkhamb plateau. This has not been reportedon your site.
I support your movement whole heartedly and wish you all the very best
-Dr Anil Desai

Hello guys, Congratulations, to the Calangute front, for an inspiring meeting, my wholehearted support, and best wishes in all your endeavours. I am a Calangutekar with 27yrs experience in the tourism industry, and have travelled the world over, for first hand info on the travel trade. Calangute and Goa needs responsible tourism, no low-end tourists, who are parasitic, surely our ambassadors ought to verify a strong financial status of all visa seekers. Since I am now a resident Indian, I would like to join the front, in any capacity possible, please advise. Regards Cyril Dsouza, Naica Vaddo

Constitutional Theft of the Powers of Panchayats

an article by Jason Keith Fernandes, GT, 28 May 2008

The Constitution of India, ladies and gentlemen, has been stolen. It was stolen perhaps right from the very moment it was adopted, but being the all-encompassing document that it is, it has been stolen again. It was stolen on the 13th of May 2008 by the Cabinetof the Government of Goa, speaking through the Chief Minister and the Minister for Panchayats when they indicated that “If the rules and procedures are followed, the panchayats have no right to revoke the license” of mega-housing and other development projects.

Ever since the embarrassing statement by these members of the Cabinet displayed their commitment to themselves rather than to the people, much has been written about the response of the Government. I would however, like to suggest that while the position that the Cabinet has taken is appalling, it is certainly not out of character for the elected governments of the Union ofIndia. A primary characteristic that has marked these governments has been that of Constitutional theft.

The term Constitutional theft was introduced to us by the eminent jurist Upendra Baxi at a conference held on the positions taken bythe Supreme Court in the course of the 1990s. Briefly put, Constitutional theft is the taking away of the promise of the Constitution by dominant groups and arms of the State. Now envision this situation, we have a Constitution that in its Preamble quite clearly indicates that it is "WE, THE PEOPLE OFINDIA” who “ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION". The sovereignty of the State of India flows therefore from this grand collective of single individuals who constituted a document ofhope.

The Constitution also contained a vision for the realizationof this sovereignty through the establishment of what that old manwho we have all forgotten called 'Gram Swaraj'. This vision was however aborted in the first act of constitutional theft when itwas replaced with something called the Westminster model of democracy. Some attempt was made to remedy this situation through the insertion of the 73rd and 74th amendments. The wrangling between political elites in the Centre and at the States however, resulted in a further degradation of the vision for a grass-roots realization of democracy. Rather that recognize the GramPanchayats as constitutional bodies, equal in stature to theCentre or the State, the political compromise reached to allowthese two amendments saw the creation of bodies that are effectively puppets of the State.

Any powers that the Panchayats may have are in fact powers that the State has deigned to give away to the Panchayats (Art. 243 G). The Panchayats effectively become therefore, creations of the State beholden unto the State for their very existence. True the Constitution has also provided for the Constitution of a Finance Commission that will ensure that Panchayats have adequate funds to meet the costs of fulfilling their governmental role, true that there is Constitutional provision for a District Planning Committee that will integrate the planning development plans for entire districts. Yet this grand framework still struggles to find root in Indian soil because of the fundamental fact that I would call an act ofConstitutional theft. That fact is the failure for the Panchayatto find an independent (though not autonomous) position within the 73rd and 74th amendments.

It is because of this history of Constitutional theft that our Cabinet can be so brazen. They can be so brazen because they know they have a point. And yet, as I have sought to point out in an earlier column, the revolution that is on in Goa is not one that is based on legality, for legality has clearly failed us, it is one based on legitimacy. What we are witnessing in Goa through the drama unfolding in one Gram Sabha after another, is the only action that will right the Constitutional wrong that has been done to the people of India. The actions of local people demanding that they must necessarily have a say in the manner in which their local environment is altered. These actions are not mere legal actions, these are sovereign actions, that demand that the law be re-altered to recognize the centrality of the citizen to the process of both planning and development.

Mr. Azgaokar is concerned that "If projects are closed downforcefully, there would be no development in Goa." Azgaokar isusing an old and much abused argument, but it doesn’t hold anymore. The argument was wielded effectively in the 80’s and the90’s when the voices against central and state development for elites was being opposed by a smaller groups. Today, it is entire villages that are standing up to this resumption of their lands for the creation of private paradises for rootless speculators.The people seem to be articulating their vision of development Mr.Azgaokar, it is one where the Quality of Life takes precedence over the generation of resources for a few. The problem is that the powers that be don’t seem to be heeding the growing signs of trouble, preferring to keep sustaining the status quo rather than realizing that the time has come for the status quo to bow out, and herald a new era of governance.

If the rest of India cares to take a leaf from out of our book, these are the actions that will see the need to recognize thePanchayat not as deriving powers from the State, but as holding powers in its own right, because the people that constitute it are sovereign. These are actions that at the end demand that the Constitution itself be brought back to the promise that it wasremoved from.

(Comments welcomed at www.dervishnotes.blogspot.com)

marathon Benaulim gramsabha

Benaulim vigilant over mega projects
2 Jun 2008, 0420 hrs IST,Govind Kamat Maad,TNN

In what could perhaps be the longest gram sabha held in recent times, the gram sabha of the Benaulim village panchayat concluded on Sunday after being adjourned on two occasions. The gram sabha was held over three marathon sessions with each session lasting for nearly four hours.
The concluding session of the Benaulim gram sabha on Sunday, that started off on a stormy note, however, concluded on a harmonious tone with villagers resolving to stay vigilant and thwart any moves that could prove to be disastrous for the village.
Earlier, the villagers demanded that the sarpanch place before the gram sabha the report of the inspection conducted by the panchayat of the various mega projects and big buildings coming up in the village.
The inspection report revealed that projects under the scanner of the villagers had failed to comply with the regulations and the building byelaws in force, much to the ire of the villagers. The panchayat secretary informed the villagers that stop work orders and show cause notices have already been issued to the builders of the projects – Ramcon Realtors, Grace Constructions, L & L Builders and Commonwealth Developers – based on inspection reports and that similar action would be taken against other erring builders soon. "Based on the reply given by the builders to the show cause notices, appropriate decision would be taken at the panchayat meeting," panchayat secretary Prabodh Prabhu informed the gram sabha.
Still apprehensive over the sarpanch's assurance, the gram sabha demanded that the replies be scrutinized by a committee formed of villagers and legal experts so as to ensure that villagers are not denied justice in their battle against mega projects. Annoyed over innumerable construction licenses issued to projects by overlooking thegross violations committed by the builders, the gram sabha adopted a resolution demanding an inquiry by the Vigilance Commission into all the construction licenses issued by the panchayat for the last two terms (ten years).
The villagers were in for a further rude shock when it was revealed by the Benaulim Villagers Action Committee (BVAC) that the panchayat was already in receipt of two more proposals for big projects in the village and that those were already submitted to the Town and Country Planning Department for clearance.
"While the whole village is in the midst of a turmoil over mega projects, this panchayat body has the audacity to forward proposals for two more such projects to the Town and Country Planning," Geraldine Fernandes of the BVAC said.
Sarpanch Maria Fernandes, whose resignation was sought by agitated villagers over the issue, assured that the panchayat would reject any applications for construction licenses for those projects. With a view to maintain a vigil over any discreet dealings , the gram sabha further decided to form a scrutinizing committee consisting of gram sabha members.