Team Herald
VASCO: A Chicalim resident on Monday filed an intervening application before the Deputy Collector of Mormugao requesting to make him an intervener with regards to a Mormugao Port Trust matter, asking for survey number of reclaimed riverine land on their name, which is in the port limits.
Edwin Mascarenhas filed an intervening application before Deputy Collector in a matter relating to the MPT which had asked for the survey number of reclaimed land of 5,78,000 sq mts from the Zuari River. This matter has been ongoing with the SDM Mormugao from last one year.
Mascarenhas also opined that the State government should not let go so much of land from its hands and by now should have appointed a lawyer and participated in the proceedings.
He further said that the MPT had applied for the survey of the reclaimed land on their name with the Deputy Collector. Their demand was to enter MPT name in the Form D, but this land belongs to the State government as per the Land Revenue Code.
“I have sufficient documents to prove this. Some documents are even of the Pre Liberation of Goa era that says that the land belongs to the State government,” he added.
“The MPT has reclaimed this riverine land without obtaining permission from the State and has further gone ahead to leasing out around 96,000 sq mts of it to the third private party.”
“How can the MPT lease out this reclaimed land to other party when this reclaimed land does not belongs to them,” Mascarenhas questioned.
When counter questioned Mascarenhas that as per the Central government’s notification the MPT are making its claim over the reclaimed land, he reiterated that as per the Land Revenue Code of Goa its belongs to the State government and emphasised that the State government should take this issue seriously and a lawyer should be appointed by the government to protect the State’s interest.
