Unity Mall Goa faces protest over environmental concerns
NT Reporter
Panaji
Stating that shifting the Unity Mall project to another site is difficult, as the project has already reached an advanced stage, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said Rs 25 crore has already been spent on it.
“It is a steel structure project, many items and equipment required for the construction have already been purchased,” Sawant said.
The Chief Minister, who held a meeting with a delegation of Chimbel villagers, said the locals should withdraw their protest, as Unity Mall is a central government project.
“I am ready to conduct a survey to check the zone of influence and to demarcate the area. I have asked the villagers to cooperate with the survey and then see the results. If the mall still falls under the zone of influence, we will decide further,” Sawant said adding that the matter can be sorted out through a discussion.
Chimbel villagers Wednesday threatened to intensify their agitation against the project. Chairman of Chimbel biodiversity management
committee Govind Shiro-dkar said the Chief Minister is firm on going ahead with the project. He, however, said Sawant may consider scrapping the Prashasan Sthambh.
Speaking to media after the meeting with the Chief Minister, Shirodkar said the protest will only build up from now with support from people across the state.
Shirodkar said that after the delegation pointed out discrepancies in the notification declaring the eco-sensitive land in Chimbel around the Toyyar Lake
as a wetland, the Chief Minister assured the delegation that a fresh study will be conducted to check whether the Unity Mall site falls under the wetland’s zone of influence.
It may be noted that the status of the land for the proposed Unity Mall in Chimbel is a point of environmental dispute between the state government and local residents regarding its wetland notification.
Advocate Melisa Simoes, who is representing the Chimbel villagers in their legal battle against the proposed project, said a site inspection and demarcation will be undertaken within two days and teams from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and other departments will take part in the inspection. Simoes was a part of the delegation that met the Chief Minister. She also said that the Chief Minister has assured the villagers that the remaining area may be declared as a biodiversity park after the inspection.
Stating that the villagers’ protest will now become stronger, activist Ajay Kholkar said Sawant told the delegation that discussions over Unity Mall project were held with authorities in Delhi, “but there has been no decision to scrap the project”.
Another activist Tukaram Kunkolkar said there is no room for compromise. “We have clearly told the Chief Minister that we don’t want any construction in that area. This is not only about Unity Mall or Prashasan Sthambh but any other project in the area,” he said.
Watch the full report on the Unity Mall Goa project on our official YouTube channel.
