Baga, Feb 2 (TOI): North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) chairman Michael Lobo on Friday feigned ignorance when asked who had ordered work on the 8-metre-wide road on the Baga-Arpora hilltop. “I have no idea. We will be going either on Friday or Saturday for an inspection,” he said at a press conference at Arpora.

Interestingly, the Arpora-Nagoa panchayat too, which had on December 4 resolved to construct the road on the hill, denied being involved in the activity. “The resolution was merely passed and sent to the NGPDA,” sarpanch Sakaram Naik said.

Lobo disclosed that the large swathe of land on the hill, a part of which has been earmarked for a recreational facility, was likely to be divided into plots of 250sqm each and sold to ‘gaunkars’ of the Calangute comunidade. “It is comunidade land, so let them decide,” he said.

“The entire land cannot go to one person. If we are making plots on the plateau where there are no trees, they have to go to different individuals, who are gaunkars of Calangute only after necessary permissions from the NGPDA and the Arpora-Nagoa panchayat are obtained.”

Lobo said that the network of roads required to give such plots access would not penetrate the boundary of the comunidade’s property.

“The hill slope and the trees on the slope will not be touched. We will not give permission to anyone who seeks to construct there,” he told reporters. He also clarified that the property under survey number 253/2 was wrongly shown in Form I & XIV as belonging to the government. “Old records show that it belongs to the comunidade,” he said.

On Tuesday, villagers of Baga had submitted a letter to the panchayat protesting the construction of the road. The area was inspected by the flying squad on Thursday.