Panaji: In a victory for the villagers of Chimbel, state govt has decided to shift the location of both its projects, Unity Mall and Prashasan Stambh, to a different site. The tourism department on Wednesday stated that govt arrived at this decision after taking into consideration the “sentiments and emotions” of the villagers. Over the past month, protesters have been on a chain hunger strike to protect their village and its lifeline, Toyyar Lake.Earlier this month, chief minister Pramod Sawant issued directions to conduct a thorough mapping of the wetland and zone of influence of the lake. Thereafter, the survey exercise commenced from Jan 23, with representatives of the villagers and experts such as hydrologists, architects, and scientists from the National Institute of Oceanography Goa, members of the wetland authority, DSLR, and the tourism department. The exercise was completed on Wednesday.Tourism officials said that during the comprehensive exercise, “a thorough ground truthing was done to demarcate the catchment area, drainage lines, surface and sub-surface flows, vegetation cover, cultivation of the farmers and springs, as per the suggestions of the villagers.” The survey team traversed along the boundary of the catchment area to map the water sources and water drainage lines, and inspected every point shown by the villagers.The survey team mapped the various inlet points in the lake, along with the high water line and low water line, and the earthen bund of the lake. Besides the physical demarcation, assistance of high-definition drones was taken to understand the contours of the land.“From the survey, it was amply clear that the proposed site for the Unity Mall and Prashasan Stambh not only falls outside the zone of influence of the Toyyar wetland, but also the catchment area that was mapped by the experts engaged by the villagers,” tourism officials stated.On Wednesday, Sawant confirmed the same, stating that the Unity Mall project site does not fall within the zone of influence of Toyyar Lake nor under wetlands. “Although the project site is in a settlement zone adjoining the National Highway, upon considering the sentiments and emotions of some of the villagers, it was decided to shift the location of both the govt projects to a different site,” tourism officials said.Earlier in the day, Chimbel villagers deferred meeting the CM and requesting more time, demanding the DPR of Unity Mall project and copies of the survey minutes be handed to them. Although the report was submitted, the “joint inspection and survey report was not signed yet”, said GTDC engineer Pramod Badami.Santa Cruz MLA Rodolfo Fernandes, in whose jurisdiction Bondvall and Chimbel fall, said that he placed the demands of villagers regarding Bondvall Lake and Toyyar Lake in Chimbel before Sawant, who said that both issues would be resolved.
