NT Reporter
Margao
At a special meeting held with locals from Seraulim and officials of the Directorate of Land Survey and Settlement, concerns were raised over the inclusion of the village in the NAKSHA survey and rejected any classification of the village as an urban area.
Locals said that Seraulim is a rural village with traditional livelihoods, agrarian land use, and ecological sensitivity and that the government notification regarding NAKSHA which is designed for urban areas, has unexpectedly included Seraulim village.
The notification it was pointed out had caused anxiety among the residents regarding the intentions behind it, saying it could have been an administrative error or an indication of plans to reclassify Seraulim as an urban area without consultation with the
local community.
A resolution was taken at the meeting strongly opposing the inclusion of Seraulim in the NAKSHA programme and rejected any attempt to classify the village as an urban area.
The panchayat has been urged to write to the state government, the Town and Country Planning Department, and all departments concerned seeking the immediate withdrawal of Seraulim from the NAKSHA notification, clarification on the basis of selection of villages included in the programme and assurance that no urban area classification will be imposed without due consultation with the gram sabha
and panchayat.
Officials from the department informed the locals that the intention behind the resurvey was to create updated maps and land records, adding that it would prevent land grabbing pointing to the last such survey having been done in the 1970s. They also said the survey findings would be kept open for public objections and raise grievances, however the locals were adamant in opposing it.
