Team Herald
VASCO: Parishioners of Our Lady of Desterro Church, Vasco on Thursday raised serious concerns over the alleged attempt by Mormugao Port Trust seeking demarcation of the boundary line between MPT and Church property without producing any title document.
They alleged that MPT has sought demarcation with the intention to harass the parishioners and to grab the land which the church body formally purchased from the state government.
Addressing the media after staging a token protest in the Church area, the parishioners claimed that “Today, the officer from Directorate of Settlement and Land Records visited the area to demarcate the boundary line between MPT and the Church property to which we objected and did not allow the officer to do the same as till date the MPT has not provided any ownership documents, which state that the land on which we have constructed parking facilities is its (MPT’s) property. In fact we have paid Rs 1.75 lakh to the government and have purchased the same from it (government) for providing facilities required for the church. However, MPT has been using its influence in the state administration and has even filed a case before the Deputy Collector and is now trying to grab our land, which we will not allow,” said Milton Barretto, a parishioner.
Refuting the allegations, MPT’s deputy chairman Guruprasad Rai said, “We have no intention to grab the church property. We had applied for demarcation of the port property before the state administration and following our request, the process had commenced today. We are not doing anything illegal and we have proof to show ownership documents if required.”
