Latest news with #AnkitYadav
Time of India
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
North Goa collector clears 60 forest rights claims
Lucknow, July 16 (IANS) As part of the 'Ek Ped Maa ke Naam 2.0' initiative, the Uttar Pradesh government is set to launch a series of thematic forests across the state. The drive will begin on Friday, July 18, in Mirzapur, where the work to develop 'Eklavya Van' will be kick-started. Panaji: North Goa collector Ankit Yadav chaired a meeting of the district level committee (DLC) on Tuesday, where 108 claims under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act were taken up for screening. The committee approved 60 cases, while 30 cases were rejected as the applicants claimed revenue land or land owned by the Goa Forest Development Corporation. Yadav also sent 17 claims back to the sub-divisional level committee (SDLC) for further clarification after discrepancies were noticed in the size of the land being claimed. The collector has been chairing one meeting every week ever since chief minister Pramod Sawant announced a fast-track schedule to clear pending claims. Goa has about 10,500 applications for forest rights, of which 870 cases were cleared, and 949 cases were rejected prior to the fast-track schedule. Of the 10,500 applications, about 8,000 remain pending — 2,000 at the gram sabha level and 3,500 with the deputy collectors. 'Claims that were sent back to the sub-divisional level committee had a contradiction in the area during spot verification, and there was no justification given for the difference in the findings,' said Yadav. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Lahodné Primitivo v degustačním balení nyní o 58 % levněji Zkusit nyní Undo With the monsoon session of the legislative assembly set to commence on Monday, the DLC will pause the weekly meetings and continue once the assembly session concludes. 'Thirty cases were rejected as they are on revenue land or land that belongs to Goa Forest Development Corporation, and this land is being auctioned for cashew plantations, so no single person can claim ownership,' said Yadav. Sawant has directed the two district collectors to ensure that by Dec 19, all applications have to be processed and decided upon. Applications to recognise the rights of forest-dwelling communities have been pending since 2006. The current process requires the claims to be approved by the respective gram sabha, after which the file is sent for the SDLC's approval. Once the SDLC clears the application, the respective DLC grants the final nod, and the collector issues the sanad certificate.
Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Residents recall legacy of Junta House, once Goa's tallest building that is now ‘unsafe'
'It was the tallest building in Goa when it came up and perhaps only the second building with a lift,' recounts historian Prajal Sakhardande. 'We used to go there just to see the lift.' 'Junta House' — Goa's tallest building when it was built six decades ago – and one of its earliest skyscrapers, has been declared 'unsafe' and is set to be vacated. In an order, Ankit Yadav, collector and chairperson of the district disaster management authority of North Goa, said last week that based on a recent audit report, the building is 'structurally vulnerable' and poses a 'safety hazard' due to considerable deterioration and retrofitting is not economically feasible. The collector has ordered a complete eviction of the entire Junta House building within a month. The order marks an end of an era for the city. The building, which has a mural of an elderly woman — 'Aunty Rosy' in a red dress holding a grocery bag in one hand and a coconut in the other — on its façade, evokes memories from when it was first constructed. For more than two decades, Dr Mahendra Tamba lived and worked in a building opposite the Junta House. 'Till 1984, Madan Lal Sadan and Junta House were the only skyscrapers in Panaji. The Regional Transport Office (RTO) used to be on the first floor. I remember they used to take the test for learner's licence on the road between Akbar Ali Building and Junta House.' 'It is a landmark building and has heritage value. It must be preserved,' said Sakhardande. Located in the capital Panaji along the junction of 18th June Road and Swami Vivekanand Road, the six-storey building was constructed sometime in early 1960s around the time Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule. The government building was inaugurated by the then L-G of Goa, Daman and Diu KR Damle on August 15, 1966 during the tenure of Goa's first chief minister Dayanand Bandodkar. The iconic edifice symbolized a transformative and modern vision of Goa post liberation. Historian Dr Maria de Lourdes Bravo da Costa said that the land where the building came up belonged to the 'Junta Do Comercio Externo' (Board of External Trade), an autonomous department of the government during the Portuguese times which used to grant import licenses. 'They had their godown there, which still exists beside the building. So, when it was constructed, the building took the same Portuguese name 'Junta'.' A government official, requesting anonymity, said, 'There was a tussle too with some wanting the building to be named 'Janata' House, which means 'building of the people'.' Among the government departments that operated from the building include the Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Directorate of Official Language, Directorate of Planning, Statistics and Evaluation, Office of Commissioner Labour and Employment, Office of Civil Registrar-cum-Sub-Registrars, Goa Forest Development Corporate Limited and Goa State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. With the Directorate of Transport and Labour and Employment Department offices operating from the building, its central location within the city lent itself to be the site of several strikes and agitations. Trade union leaders would often camp near the building's staircase and sit on a hunger strike. In December 1978, student unions, who were demanding a 50 percent concession in bus fare, gheraoed the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in the Junta House building, in what came to be known as the 'half ticket' agitation, said Sakhardande. 'The agitation, in a way, began from the building.' The sixth floor of the premises, which housed the Swami Vivekanand Society, was the most famous. The state-of-the-art Swami Vivekanand Hall was the epicentre of all cultural events — theatre, Marathi and Konkani dramas, classical music, dance classes and lectures. 'Kala Academy had not come up at the time… it was the only hall where people could go to see theatre, music and dance performances,' Dr Tamba said. Prakash Kamat, a member of the State Advisory Board on Disability, said, 'My wedding reception took place on January 26, 1993 at Swami Vivekanand Hall in Junta House.' 'Many government offices in the building involved a public interface. People would go there to get registration certificates of births, deaths and marriages or pay a traffic challan.' A public astronomical observatory, operating from the building's terrace, was set up by the Association of Friends of Astronomy (AFA) in 1990 and is supported and funded by the Goa government. Satish Nayak, President Public Astronomical Observatory and AFA said the association was founded by renowned historian and bureaucrat Percival Noronha in 1982. Architect Analia da Costa, who wrote a dissertation titled 'Expressing Identity Through Architecture in Post 1961 Goa' said the design of the Junta House is 'modernist'. 'The façade had horizontal and vertical bands, horizontal balconies and a concrete structure. It had a flat roof and was on a much bigger scale, which was uncommon for Goan structures at the time. The elements in the building seemed heavily influenced and similar to the architecture of other buildings being constructed by the Central Public Works Department at the time, which was modernist and of a forward-looking India.'
Time of India
09-07-2025
- Time of India
Appoint officers for stray animal plaints: North Goa collector
Panaji: The North Goa collector has asked the directorate of municipal administration and the directorate of panchayats to each appoint a nodal officer to coordinate complaints that the District Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) receives. The DSPCA said that while the police are quick to respond to complaints, stakeholders find it challenging to get the same level of cooperation from panchayats or municipal bodies. 'A decision was taken to ask the two departments to appoint nodal officers at the rank of deputy director to assist complainants,' said North Goa collector Ankit Yadav. Yadav also said that there is a significant lack of awareness about the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 and the process to file complaints. 'We have decided to tie up with the education department to hold awareness drives in schools,' said Yadav. This was the annual general meeting of the DSPCA where the audited accounts were presented. The members also reviewed the complaints received in the last 12 months along with works that were executed. DSPCA (north) attends to all cases of animal cruelty. It also mediates in cases involving feeder harassment issues with resident welfare associations and housing societies to find feeding spots in coordination with other departments.
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Junta House must be vacated in 30 days: North Goa collector
Panaji: The North Goa collector has formally declared Junta House as unsafe and has asked for the building to be vacated within 30 days. Junta House accommodates several key govt departments, including the transport department, and is a frequently visited building, making its continued use a risky proposition. North Goa collector Ankit Yadav said the order to vacate the building is based on the structural audit report by the PWD and the need to ensure the safety of citizens and govt employees. The PWD's audit, which included non-destructive testing, was conducted to assess the building's structural integrity and determine necessary repairs. The concrete structure, built in the 1960s, was crumbling, with the steel-reinforced bars exposed in some locations and showing signs of corrosion. State govt has inked a contract with NBCC (India) Ltd, formerly known as National Buildings Construction Corporation, to redevelop six major govt buildings in a phase-wise manner, including Junta House. Junta House is considered one of the first public buildings constructed in Panaji after Liberation, and was once the tallest structure in the city. _____________________________ Vendors moved from weak Ponda building Ponda: The Ponda Municipal Council (PMC) on Thursday decided to shift vendors operating from dilapidated fish market to the mezzanine floor of the market complex building. While fish, vegetable and fruit vendors were relocated to the basement parking, others had refused to move to the new location. Last month, the PMC had given traders 72 hours notice to vacate the premises, but it was put on hold after vendors petitioned chief minister Pramod Sawant during his recent visit to the town. tnn
