Porvorim- August 29th: The Salvador do Mundo Panchayat is harassing the construction contractor in Porvorim, and it is alleged by opposition panchayat members and local residents that this might be the first panchayat in the country to conduct an inspection after issuing a permission for construction.
According to the information received, this panchayat had issued a permit in 2023 for the alleged construction where hill-cutting is seen, which had become a subject of controversy. Sarpanch Bindiya Naik, while speaking to the media, also admitted that the permit was granted in 2023. Opposition Panchayat member and former Sarpanch Sandeep Salgaonkar questioned why an inspection of the site was not conducted before issuing the permission.
Panchayat members Vijay Dalvi, Reena Fernandes, and Dattaram Redkar were also present with him. Redkar accused the panchayat of not conducting a proper inspection in this matter. He stated that the media exposed the case of bribery in exchange for construction permission. This has resulted in raising suspicion that I and the opposition members were kept in the dark from the beginning redkar added.
Redkar further said that the answer to why there was such a hurry to grant the permission might be hidden in the bribery allegations revealed by the media. He also alleged that, as a local panchayat member, the ruling body never took him into confidence.
Salgaonkar questioned whether the ruling body was unaware that hill-cutting would take place where permission is granted! He further accused the ruling body of harassing the concerned parties now that they are facing backlash for allowing backdoor hill-cutting after granting the permission.
The media had exposed the bribery case regarding the permission issue. Thus, the opposition members questioned why the ruling body is now complaining about hill-cutting after the permission was granted without a proper inspection.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Vishvesh Karpe stated that there was a delay in initially issuing the construction permi as alleged by complainant in his complaint. An FIR has been filed against Panch KrishnaKant Chodankar and a former panch along with the husband of a female panch member for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 18 lakhs for the permission. He mentioned that the investigation in the matter is in process.
