NT Reporter
Curchorem
Construction of a culvert across the rivulet of River Kushavati at the Bonkal ward in Kajur village under the Caurem-Pirla village panchayat in the Sanguem constituency has been delayed due to the absence of a no-objection certificate (NOC) from landowners, Sanguem MLA Subhash Phal Dessai said.
Residents of the area have been using a make-shift wooden structure for the last 35 to 40 years to cross the water body. Although there are seven houses on the other side of the river, six are vacant and only one family currently resides there.
The issue has recently gained attention on social media. When contacted, Phal Dessai said that the local families own the land required for the project and were requested to provide an NOC for the construction.
“But it seems that there is no unanimity among them over the issue. I have spent crores of rupees specially on road construction in the remote villages of the constituency, including Kajur. Construction of this culvert is a small thing, but without the NOC of the landowners how can I proceed with the said culvert?” he said.
Local panch Pradip Velip said that beneficiaries of the proposed culvert had not come forward to assist in obtaining the required NOC documents from landowners. “I will try my best to solve the problem. We cannot blame our MLA for this issue because we ourselves have failed to provide him the required documents,” he said.
Sarpanch Vidhi Velip also stated that villagers affected by the absence of the culvert were not cooperating with requests made by the panchayat.
“They are not ready to visit the panchayat office to register their demand. They want all things to be done automatically without their participation,” said sarpanch Vidhi Velip.
