Team Herald
PANJIM: The Penha de Franca villagers have requested the panchayat to consult the Public Works Department (PWD) and Electricity Department to determine the availability of essential resources like water and power before giving permissions and licences to new constructions in the area.
It also demanded that the concerned departments should check garbage and sewage disposal and insist on rain water harvesting wherever possible before issuing construction licences.
The resolution was unanimously passed at the gram sabha held last Sunday, with members voicing serious concern about the sustainability and carrying capacity of the village.
The villagers urged the panchayat and PWD to cover the open drains with cement slabs in all the wards so as to prevent accidents and curb spread of diseases like malaria, dengue, typhoid and other vector borne sicknesses due to water stagnation, growth of weeds and garbage accumulation.
There was a heated discussion on hawkers and moveable kiosks along the public roads and highways, which has raised concern regarding traffic congestion and unauthorised activities. The panchayat then decided to conduct a thorough survey of licences issued to hawkers and kiosks and said only authorised vendors would be allowed to operate only in a specially demarcated and designated open spaces as food zones by strictly following health, FDA and FSSAI registration rules and regulations.
This was essential to avoid accidents and to ensure sale of healthy and hygienic food to the public.
The village panchayat also decidedl write to all hotels, business houses, malls, departmental stores, super markets, etc asking them to maintain cleanliness and hygiene under CSR in their vicinity and around their locations on weekly or fortnightly basis.
The gram sabha members appealed to the people including hotels, commercial establishments and residents to avoid haphazard parking to avoid congestion and accidents in the village.
The other decision taken during the grams abha were to clean and repair public wells in the panchayat areas for water usage under WRD, to create awareness of benefits of all government schemes with the help of Gram Mitra, Gram Sevaks and panchayat members in their respective wards.
Earlier, Penha de Franca sarpanch Sapnil Chodankar welcomed the gathering and panchayat member Ravi Naik proposed a vote of thanks. Panchayat members, panchayat secretary and observer from the Block Development Office (BDO), Bardez attended the gram sabha.