MARGAO: A meeting of Carmona villagers and village groups saw a demand for the immediate scrapping of the project by a major Mumbai builder. The people also demanded that the project be broken up into small plots and be sold to locals.

Another demand was that a pipeline that is being allegedly laid by the builders and leads directly into the River Sal should be removed, as it could be used to dump sewage into the river later on. The meeting also condemned the statements made by the PWD Minister, Mr Churchill Alemao that Goans would get jobs in the project as watchmen, as well as that Goans would allegedly squeal for anything.
The village groups also visited Orlim where there is opposition building up against a project, on the grounds that it is in a low lying field.
The village groups decided to inaugurate the helpline – 1077 – on Monday, by calling and complaining about this project.
A crowd of 250 plus was present including around 50-60 representatives from the village groups.
This Carmona project has been in the news in recent times after it came up initially as a project having some 600 flats. After immense opposition to that, the revised plan has been provisionally given clearance by TCP after a communication from a senior south Goa cabinet minister, to expedite the acquisition of a 10-meter road.
In Orlim too there has been opposition a project with allegations being made that when the actual road is barely 3 meters, a proposed road of 8 meters will bring down many a construction of the original dwellings of the 36-odd families that live in the largely agrarian neighbourhood of Palcuta-Orlim. This project will have 66 flats and a swimming pool. Villagers complain that they do not get proper water from the PWD and have to get tankers to solve their water woes.
They also allege that the builder has been constructing in the paddy field and closed the pond in the low lying area, without getting the required permission under section 17A, but no action was taken.