Since the start of this year, the residents of Velsao's Primeiro Vaddo have been putting up a brave front against plans by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) to expand the rail network in the area. RVNL is a central public sector enterprise that develops rail infrastructure for the Indian government. At Velsao, it is presently in the eye of the storm pertaining to expansion plans for the South Western Railways (SWR).
Protests by irate villagers against the dumping of construction material by RVNL began in January when they noticed that the material - which was intended to be used for track-doubling work - had blocked a traditional motorable access route that residents said was crucial to them. They expressed fears of being landlocked and inundated by rain water during the monsoons if RVNL went ahead with its plans to construct a retaining wall along the village's traditional right of way. The villagers also claimed that work by RVNL was being carried out clandestinely as hearings pertaining to demarcation of the area and a fresh survey of the land were ongoing at the high court of Bombay at Goa.
A more recent development saw heated exchanges between the locals of Velsao, Pale and Issorcim, and representatives of the SWR before the inspector of survey and land records at Margao after SWR submitted reports to support its land ownership claims and the locals said that these were insufficient. The cadastral plan of Velsao is missing from public records, the latter claimed, thereby raising valid doubts about the cadastral plan relied on by SWR to make claims of land ownership. They also asked why the cadastral plan that the SWR's reports were based on was not attached.
For the uninitiated, the SWR has claimed that it owns land on either side of the existing railway tracks at Velsao, which is being contested by villagers and the landowners concerned. The friction over ownership revolves around a 10-metre-wide land parcel located between the existing railway track and heritage homes in the area.
Construction, which is ongoing, has also evoked fears among the villagers about inundation during the monsoon, which is just a few months away. They have been left wondering how they will tide over the wet season as the old waterways and drainage systems have reportedly been destroyed by RVNL's workers. Unseasonal rain a few days ago has given them something of a sneak preview of the perils that lie ahead when the monsoon does bear down on the state with all its might. Villagers now fear that the water may gush into their homes as the area in front of their structures has been raised by RVNL almost to the height of their compound walls.
Residents of Velsao's Primeiro Vaddo have been facing the most stress as they have said that RVNL has effectively blocked the sole entry point to their individuals houses, forcing them to pass through their neighbours' properties if they are to enter their own homes. The block is such that they can't even get their vehicles out of their properties, while the Railways lifted and moved vehicles parked along the public access route without their permission.
Development is necessary, but if it happens at the cost of the well-being of citizens, it can hardly be passed off as development. Prudence is key when plans as large-scale as the SWR expansion programme are made. Dialogue and mediation is also necessary if both sides are to come to an amicable solution. Unleashing the police force to detain protesting villagers will hardly serve the purpose as it will only heighten tensions and lengthen the deadlock.
It is high time the government departments concerned review the permissions granted to the Railways for the project and take the local population into confidence as well. If it is already too late, the onus is on the government to arrive at a solution that will allow those affected to access the homes without struggling and also to ensure that the impending monsoon impacts them minimally, if at all. Else the deadlock between the people and the Railways will not show signs of abating and will only result in frayed tempers and altercations which won't serve either side in the long run.
The government must get the situation back on track.