MAPUSA
Amid growing public outrage across Goa over alleged illegal land conversions and rampant filling of low-lying fields, fresh concerns have emerged from Salvador do Mundo, where residents have flagged large-scale dumping in paddy fields.
Locals have raised alarm over the alleged filling of agricultural land with mud and construction debris along the Donwaddo“Paithona Chapel road, warning that the activity could have serious ecological and legal implications.
The affected stretch, they say, includes tenanted rice fields that are now being gradually buried under heaps of debris.
Taking cognisance of the issue, Chairman of the Salvador do Mundo Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC), Dinesh Dias has written to the Deputy Collector, seeking immediate intervention.
In the letter, the committee pointed to “massive dumping” along the Paithona Chapel to Donwaddo creek road, describing the scale of the activity as alarming.
“Huge piles have been stacked along the entire length of the road, with much of it dumped into tenanted paddy fields. This amounts to a change in land use and is in violation of the provisions of the Goa Land Revenue Code and the Goa Land Use Regulation Act, 1991,” Dias stated.
The representation, co-signed by BMC member Reboni Saha “ who has been actively involved in environmental advocacy “ also questioned the lack of transparency surrounding the activity.
According to residents, no signboards or project details have been displayed at the site, leaving locals in the dark about who is undertaking the work and under what authority.
The Biodiversity Management Committee has demanded that authorities conduct an urgent site inspection, halt all ongoing activity, and initiate steps to restore the land to its original condition.
It has also called for accountability and strict enforcement of existing land-use regulations.
The issue comes at a time when several parts of Goa have witnessed similar complaints, with citizens and environmental groups increasingly voicing concern over unregulated construction and the filling of ecologically sensitive zones.
