Tension gripped the South Goa Collectorate at the office of survey and land records on Thursday after yet another hearing in the ongoing land dispute involving the South West ern Railway (SWR) was postponed, sparking strong protests from affected vil lagers, activists and politi cal leaders. The hearing, the 16th in the matter before the of fice of survey and land re cords, once again failed to produce a final order. The situation escalated when villagers discovered that the officer concerned was on leave and a substitute officer was handling the proceed ings. Their anger intensified after the case was initially adjourned to June, leading to a heated confrontation in side the hearing venue. Following sustained objections and mounting pressure from those pres ent, the officer revised the next hearing date to the first week of May. Despite this, villagers remained dissatisfied, alleging that repeated postponements are a deliberate attempt to delay justice while railway work continues at the site.
A large number of resi dents from Velsao and sur rounding areas gathered at the Collectorate along with social activists and political leaders. Among those pres ent were Fatorda MLA Vi jai Sardesai, Goa Congress president Amit Patkar, and noted environmentalist Claude Alvares. Villagers questioned how construction linked to the double-tracking project is continuing despite SWR allegedly failing to submit documents proving legal ownership or possession of the land. They argued that with the matter still sub ju dice, all work should have been halted until a final de cision is reached. Further controversy arose when villagers ob jected to the presence of a railway representative, claiming the individual lacked proper legal author isation and identification. They demanded that such representation not be ac cepted in official proceed ings.
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The atmosphere turned increasingly tense as vil lagers voiced concerns over hardships caused by the ongoing work. Several residents claimed they are facing difficulty access ing their homes, with el derly citizens particularly affected. Speaking to reporters after the hearing, anti-dou ble tracking activist Orville Dourado accused authori ties of adopting delay tac tics to allow the project to proceed unchecked. He al leged that despite multiple hearings, SWR has failed to produce a single document supporting its claim over the land. “The plan is to delay the hearings and complete the work while people continue to struggle,” he said, warn ing that villagers’ patience is running out and that their next course of action will be decided soon. Environmental activist Claude Alvares criticised the authorities, stating that while citizens are adhering to the law, the government appears to be ignoring it. He questioned how construc tion could proceed without proper land acquisition and suggested that villagers may be left with no option but to remove materials from the site themselves.
Supporting the villagers, MLA Vijai Sardesai termed the repeated postpone ments a “deliberate strat egy.” He said SWR’s failure to produce ownership doc uments even after 16 hear ings weakens its case and should lead to its dismissal. He also cautioned that continued delays could es calate public anger, with villagers warning they may take matters into their own hands if justice is not deliv ered promptly. With the next hearing now scheduled for ear ly May, the dispute has reached a critical stage, as tensions continue to rise between authorities and affected communities over the controversial railway project.
