Forest officials, flying squad inspect Chimbel illegal road

PANAJI: A team comprising forest department officials and the flying squad inspected the site at Chimbel where many trees were uprooted and a kutcha road laid illegally late last week.
“Officials conducted the inspection on Monday and compiled a panchanama, but details are not yet known,” a village activist said.
On the third day of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, some Chimbel villagers noticed the activity after labourers cleared vegetation and paved a path from the Old Goa-Panaji bypass, southward to the Xirent lake.
The one-km long road appears to be an alternative route to the site of the intended IT park proposed by the state government. The other access to the site, which was originally acquired by the agriculture department and is partly agricultural/horticultural land, runs through the village on the western side.
In addition to laying the road, the villagers alleged that many trees had been cleared above the Chimbel lake, on its northern side. The lake, an age-old water body, had been sourced in the Portuguese era to supply tap water to Panaji city for a few years before the second project, at Opa, was commenced.
The thick forest area comprises the catchment area around the lake and villagers are opposing the project as it is one of the few remaining green patches for local biodiversity, flora and fauna.
Other parts of the village, especially its hill slopes, are under threat from development activity. The area where over two decades ago, small plots were allocated under a housing scheme for the poor, is now a sprawling slum.