3L sqm of private forest turned into settlement at Arambol

Panaji: Two years after central govt intervened and kept the Goa town and country planning (TCP) department’s zoning plan converting 21% of Pernem’s green cover in abeyance, Arambol in the taluka is on the boil again.An entire hill in Bhatwadi, Arambol, covered in dense private forest, comprising 3 lakh sqm of land, was converted into settlement land. At threat are around 1,000 residents of five wards, living at the foothills, fearing a ‘Wayanad-like landslide’ if the trees are uprooted to be replaced with luxury hotels or villas.Residents took to the streets on Sunday evening, but their protest will continue until the conversion is not reversed, said the agitated locals.Local Rohit Satelkar said that despite receiving assurance from the chief minister and local MLA that the planned conversion will not go through, a notification was issued bringing it into effect this month.“The land belonged to a local, who recently sold it to a non-Goan buyer, and we were on alert since then to ensure that the property is not converted to a settlement zone. We will protest until this issue is taken up in the upcoming assembly session,” said Prasad Shahapurkar, from neighbouring Mandrem, from which area too residents joined the protests.Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar said that the conversion reeks of suspicion.“I already spoke to the TCP department and took a representation to the CM, and the CM assured me that the conversion will be reversed. If, in an entire village, every person is objecting to the conversion and I even took up the issue in the assembly, still, if this conversion takes place in such a large area of 3 lakh sqm, then there is something fishy. I will strongly object to this conversion,” said Arolkar.Residents said that the forest at Bhatwadi is home to foxes, bison, leopards, and other animals, besides housing the village cremation ground, playground, and a revered shrine, all of which is part of the settlement zone now.“The entire hill, which runs for a length of 1.5km and makes up almost half of Arambol village, was converted into a settlement zone. The impact will be felt by the entire village. The project coming up will change our demography; imagine the number of plots and residential units, villas, that will come up in such a large area. There is no proper rubbish management for such development here,” said Satelkar.The residents said they consume fresh water from their wells at present for 365 days a year, thanks to the forest cover, which keeps this area free from the water shortage in the Arambol-Mandrem coast due to rising unplanned tourism activity. Locals said if borewells are sunk for the new project, they will be hit by water scarcity for the first time in their lifetime.“There are horticultural fields all around, which will be affected. Our identity as a village will be destroyed if the hill is destroyed. This is a fight for our identity,” said another resident Esperance D’Souza.