Team Herald
VASCO: In a bid to save their structures from demolition by the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) anytime later this week, the affected Baina residents have sought the Goa Governor’s intervention into the matter.
Addressing a joint press conference in support of the residents at Vasco on Wednesday evening, Congress leader Sankalp Amonkar claimed on Wednesday morning the affected residents have made a joint representation before Goa Governor and other state government authorities requesting for their intervention into the case so that demolition can be kept on hold under humanitarian grounds.
He also said that by going ahead with the demolition, MMC would be actually violating its own resolution taken a week ago, wherein the Council had unanimously resolved to keep the demolition on hold until and unless the concerned authorities takes a decision with regards to their pending application for regularisation of their houses under the new regularisation of unauthorised construction ordinance of 2016.
“These 53 houses were built some four decades ago on church and ‘bhatkar’ (private landlord) property and the same land were later sold to a private builder in the year 2009 and with the help of MMC the new owner wanted to demolish these structures. Later, the affected parties filed a civil suit before JMFC Vasco and the matter is still pending before the court. Now though the matter is sub-judice, MMC is intending to demolish these houses on Friday,” Amonkar said.
What is surprising is the fact that last week Council during its meeting unanimously resolved to keep the demolition on hold until and unless collector south Goa takes decision, he said, adding that he was surprised to note that MMC wanted to help private party remove encroachments on private land.
MMC ward Councillor Murari Bandekar also appealed that MMC should keep the demolition on hold on humanitarian grounds, as most of these affected residents are poor.
