TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Adv Andre Pereira, a practicing advocate and Secretary of Association of Components of Comunidade has rubbished MPT’s claims that they are owners of all lands in village of Mormugao from the port till Agassaim and till Cortalim and in the south till Betul and to the north till Fort Aguada.
Citing the notification issued in Boletim Official on February 8, 1962, issued by Military Governor K P Candeth, he said that all jurisdiction of the Port was given to Administrative Officer of the Port of Mormugao. The MPT came into existence only in 1964, so it cannot claim ownership of land anywhere in the village of Mormugao before it came into existence. No outgoing body was handed over any land or property after the Junta was dissolved.
Secondly, the Captain of Ports, Goa was in charge of the Port of Mormugao since February 9, 1962.
Third as per Central government Major Ports Act 1963, 1977 and 2000, they can only have jurisdiction where there is navigable water and not where people own property. They are not a local authority under any law, so the land does not belong to them, Adv Andre said.
Adv Andre said that the MPT has misused the notification of the Centre declaring the area of operation of Port of Mormugao. He said there is no declaration conferring proprietorship in favour of Central Government nor MPT exists and no such proprietorship can vest by the above notification when private persons own the land.
Informing that he had filed a petition challenging the Centre on its land policy, he questioned how the Central Government can allocate land to ports when it does not own the land. Adv Andre said the MPT has no jurisdiction to carry out any business where central government has not vested it with any proprietorship over any land.
