Court notices put Aquem-Baixo households in a tight spot

Court notices put Aquem-Baixo households in a tight spot
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, FEB 9  
Requisition of land for the rehabilitation of the households affected by the setting up of the military camp at Rawanfond without following the process of land acquisition has come to haunt around 100 households in Firgulem locality of Aquem-Baixo village Panchayat.
The households find themselves in a tight spot after the landlord has served court notices on them since the government has till date not paid any compensation for rehabilitating the people on his property.
The issue was raised by Navelim MLA and PWD Minister, Churchill Alemao with Revenue Minister Jose Philip D’Souza and District Collector G P Naik in the District Collectorate on Wednesday.
Alemao drew attention of the revenue minister and the district collector of the fact that the households have received the court notices for no fault of theirs, adding that the landlord has gone to the court since the government had failed to acquire the land in question and offer compensation to the landlord.
After the meeting, the PWD Minister said he has requested the Revenue Minister and the district collector to work out a solution and ensure that the households are not affected and that the landlord is offered adequate compensation in lieu of the land.
“This issue has been pending for the three decades, but was never taken up by any MLA or Minister. I will take up the matter with the Chief Minister to work out an amicable solution to the problem”, Alemao added.
When contacted, District Collector, G P Naik told Herald that the government had requisitioned land for the rehabilitation of around 46 families in the 60’s which were affected by the military camp at Rawanfond. “As per my study, though the families were rehabilitated on the plot of land, there appeared no land acquisition process followed to later acquire the land. In the bargain, the land lord was not paid compensation for the land loss”, he said, adding that he has put up a  note of the state revenue authorities to discuss the issue threadbare with the Chief Minister before working out a solution.