MARGAO: The Anti RP 2021 and Anti PDA Public Meeting called by the Goencho Awaaz has named nearly 14 Ministers, MLA's of Goa alleging of massive land conversions being attempted by them. The gathering has demanded that the TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai according to his promise has to now take action against these complaints and have demanded that he starts from self first.

The Goencho Awaaz activists which is a kind of a confederation of various NGO's of Goa showcased its study over the RP 2021 and have hurled their ‘findings’ to the MLA's and Ministers like hand grenades. 14 MLAs and Ministers were named in the study and the power point presentation shown today at the Public Meet. The activists have taken the Google images of the land in present state and have compared it to the proposed or executed conversions in the RP 2021. The NGO's Rainbow Warriors and yet another one from North Goa have alleged that there is an attempt to convert lands all over Goa to the tune of lakhs of sq mts. 

These MLA's Ministers include present BJP, Congress, MGP, Goa Forward and former MLAs who have been alleged of having spearheaded the loot. The study of the NGO's has also named 9 hotels/resorts and real estate companies which have been marked to be Goa bound by means of conversion of the land. .

Topping the list of the revealed names was Congress man Jitendra Deshprabhu. The Rainbow warriors have alleged that Deshprabhu has got converted 5 lakh sq mts of green land into settlement area in Paliem. Deepak Dhavalikar has been alleged of having converted 1 lakh sq mts of Forest land into settlement in Ponda Taluka. 

Soon it was the name of Congress MLA Luizinho Faleiro for having facilitated conversion of an island into settlement zone, the land which is in the name of a company owned by his son.

Wife of late Matanhy MLA, Alina Saldanha has been alleged of having allowed a conversion of a 200 sq mts of  Non Development Zone land in her constituency into parking area and a 10 mtr road possibly for a project. 

No sooner the names of Pratapsingh Rane Congress MLA and Vishwajit Rane BJP MLA came to the fore for having allegedly converted land admeasuring 5 lakh sq mts in Kalapur. The NGO says that this land is bigger than the entire Kalapur village put together and has been shown as settlement instead of greens. 

One of the attendees of the meeting Nuvem Congress MLA Wilfred Dsa was also caught in a fix after the NGO showed a large rich orchard land shown as settlement in the RP 2021.

The TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai too was not spared. The NGO alleged that low lying fields, gayre and sensitive lands have been shown as settlement zone. They told that the land is in the name of Matrix Ventures which they claim that the Minister has stakes in. 

NGO also raised that Vijai Sardesai and Kennedy Alemao JV in Velsao wherein they alleged that a CRZ land has been shown as settlement and they both are directors of the company which holds the land.

Congress MLA Francis Silveira, St. Andre has been alleged of having allowed a land in Batim to be shown as industrial land and hill cutting allowed for the same. 

Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar has been alleged of having facilitated a large forest land to be shown as settlement and the NGO also informed that the Google images show that plots are already being done. 

The BJP MLA of Curchorem Nilesh Cabral has been alleged of having facilitated an industrial land shown in Loutolim which is on edge of a plateau. 

The NGO has not even bailed out the Former MLAs. Former Independent MLA Naresh Sawal has been alleged of having shown large agriculture land in Mulgao, Bicholim being represented as settlement in RP 2021. 

The NGO also alleged that Congress MLA Digambar Kamat has in Agonda, Canacona taluka got his green cover area shown as settlement. 

BJP MLA Glen Ticlo has been alleged of having facilitated conversion of green areas of Soccorro into settlement areas. 

Adding to this the NGO has alleged that hotels; resorts and mega projects, 9 in number have also been helped to get ecologically important land for their projects.

The TCP Minister has been asked to take action on all the violations and have also asked him to start from his own violations.

"All over Goa a pattern is seen where 20 point program land has been earmarked in village limits and surrounding areas have been made into settlement. They want to create chawl culture in Goa" said Swapnesh Sherlekar of the NGO. 

The Abhijit Prabhudessai of Rainbow Warriors and Swapnesh Sherlekar of Goencho Awaaz said that Regional plan has to be scrapped and land has to be returned back to its original form.