SANGUEM: Encroachers on government land at Uguem appear to have gotten bolder, and their illegalities, all the more blatant.
With the Water Resources Department (WRD) presently tangled in a clutch of legal battles aimed at evicting encroachers from lands it owns in the village, a fresh challenge has emerged in its very backyard at Pajimol, near the Uguem Panchayat. Some individuals have reportedly cleared a 1,000-square metre swathe of WRD-owned land for what appears to be a large construction project. In fact, a permanent structure covered by metal sheets has already been erected on the site.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
That’s not all. To give the encroachment some kind of legitimacy, the individuals concerned have even managed to set up a government-sponsored toilet on a portion of the land. The site in question lies in proximity to the WRD’s office at Pajimol, sparking claims that the encroacher is a non-Goan with political connections due to which the department has chosen to look the other way.
This is not the first case of encroachment the WRD has had to deal with at Uguem. Several homes have already been illegally constructed on land belonging to it near the iconic Selaulim dam, and have been occupied by migrants who had arrived in the village as labourers and drivers decades ago while the dam was being constructed.
All of these houses now sport house numbers and water and electricity connections, making it all the more difficult for the WRD to get them demolished as court cases drag on.
WRD executive engineer at Pajimol, SydneyFernandes, said that as far as the most recent encroachment is concerned, the department will soon send a surveyor to the site to verify the encroachments for subsequent legal action.
“Whatever encroachments have been made will be cleared after the survey is complete,” Fernandes said.
