TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday justified the government decision to grant a piece of government land to an individual at Velim village.
Parrikar said though the deputy collector had way back in 2001 ordered clearing of all encroachments on the land admeasuring 525 square metres, the chief minister is the final authority in deciding on matters relating to government property. “The deputy collector must have held that the land in question belongs to the government. Now, I have taken a decision to grant the land to the party since the individual was in possession of the land for over 20 years. There’s nothing wrong in my decision to grant the government land to the party”, he said.
“Has government land not been given to private parties in the past. There are so many cases wherein government has been given to individuals upon payment of money. In the instant case, the government has given the land with the condition that the party pay the rate”, Parrikar said.
The chief minister further pointed out that the government took the decision to grant land to the individual after the Velim panchayat withdrew the proposal for the public utility purpose.
