Daijiworld Media Network – Panaji

Panaji, Sep 21: Residents of Chimbel have vowed to resist the proposed Unity Mall after the Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) granted it environmental clearance with conditions.

The mall, planned on a 20,855 sq m site near the Chimbel wetland lake, has sparked fears of damage to the lake, surrounding aquifers, and local livelihoods. “This is the same area where the government’s 2018 IT Park plan was scrapped following public opposition,” said Govind Shirodkar, chairman of the Chimbel Biodiversity Management Committee.

Despite SEIAA’s directives to use treated water from the Tonca sewage plant and to submit a mobility plan to ease traffic, villagers allege the project lacks transparency. The panchayat has already passed a resolution against it, with Sarpanch backing the locals.

Forest and agricultural land around the historic lake—once Panaji’s water source—are part of the project site. Villagers will march to Toyar Lake on Sunday to protest both the mall and the government’s proposed 17-storey Prashasan Sthamb at Kadamba Plateau.