Team Herald
MARGAO: Accusing the Curtorim Comunidade of failing to keep a check on their properties for protecting an illegal stone quarry on atop a hill, Sao Jose De Areal residents have objected to the re-auctioning of the comunidade land due to violations and demanded that the same be revoked.
Claiming that they want to protect their hills in the villages, the residents claimed that they will strongly object to the comunidade’s move to have a stone quarry. The people have now decided to object to the next Comunidade land auction. In 2008, the villagers claim that they had taken a morcha and stopped the land auction.
However, it is learnt that the Comunidade had signed an agreement with the Forest Department for social forestry, which is now under a huge stone quarry.
The locals alleged that there was an agreement against extraction below 5 meter depth but now the area has been dug upto 40 to 50 metres deep.
Nearly 18 persons have been allotted land on lease atop the hill in Curtorim. The people have demanded that until the conditions of the previous lease are fulfilled, they will not allow the auctioning of these leases.
