Team Herald

MAPUSA: The Mapusa Bodgeshwar Shetkari Sangh has accused a Mapusa councillor of harassing a farmer by forcing her to hand over her agricultural land for a nominal rate to undertake development under the Downtown Planning Scheme. 

A written complaint regarding the harassment by the councillor has been lodged at the Mapusa Police Station on Monday morning. 

The farmer has alleged that the councillor is harassing her and has also falsely obtained a letter of willingness from her.

The farmer said that the councillor was visiting her when she was ill allegedly with ulterior motive and was threatening her.

“I was sick and he was citing this as a reason to come to see me. He offered to give me a flat and some money in exchange of my property,” she said.

Curtorim MLA, Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, who was present in Mapusa, condemned the Downtown Planning Scheme and alleged that it is being taken up to benefit a few.

“The government is undertaking this Downtown Planning Scheme to harass the people of Mapusa.”

 I cannot understand why they are threatening the farmers. Tomorrow they may come to Curtorim and say they want to implement this scheme there as well,” he said.

Bodgeshwar Shetkari Sangh president Sanjay Barde alleged that this is an act of harassment by forcing the farmer to hand over her agricultural land admeasuring 700 sq mts.

“This is complete injustice to the farmer and we condemn it. Most of the prime agricultural land has been forcefully taken away from the farmers by the municipality to undertake development without compensating them,” Barde alleged.