Documents belie SWR claims that 70% landowners have “not objected”

Margao: The South Western Railways (SWR) claims, as mentioned in its letter to Herald that 70% of the landowners have not raised any objection, “which in other words” means they (landowners) have no objection to the acquiring of their land, flies in the face of facts and is baseless.

The notice issued by the Office of Land Acquisition the SDO and Deputy Collector of Mormugao Taluka, who is the Competent Authority in its notice published in Herald on June 19, 2020, listed 103 survey numbers of the land they intended to acquire under the Railway Act of 1989. 

The SW Railways intends to acquire 32,714 square metres from Kalem to Margao and 27,463 square metres from Majorda to Vasco making it a total of 60,177 square meters

Owners like Comunidades have raised objections to more than 1 survey number. (Herald has those documents) The objections clearly cross the 50% mark and could even be more.  

The mere list of 48 people called by the Dy Collector Mormugao (documents with Herald) for hearings  on their objection ( please note this is not the total number called, which is more) from June 19 to June 27 of the 103, still falsifies the railways claim that 70% have not raised objections.

Conclusion: 

Even if we set aside for the moment, the broader argument on why the 2,800 odd objections have to be heard  (as confirmed by the Deputy Collector Mormugao) as “interested” parties, the very fact that  more than 50% of the landowners in the 103 survey number, (48 of whose  names and details addresses are with Herald) whose lands are intended to be acquired from Kalem to Vasco for the Special project namely doubling of Hospet-Hubbali-Tinnaighat-Vasco (track), have raised objections and have subsequently been called by the Competent Authority.

SWR itself agrees that 65 objections (out of 103 survey numbers) have come from ‘interested parties’

Interestingly, the SWR in its letter to Herald, itself admits that 65 objections have been raised by “interested parties”. If the narrow definition of SWR that interested parties mean only land owners, (the definition is actually far more broad-based) then 65 out of 103 survey numbers is about 60% i.e. 60% have raised objections; as opposed to the claim of SW Railways that 70% have no objections.

The Railways must find decide what the universe of calculation is. It has to be on paper, the 103 survey numbers, as per its own notice. Therefore its claim that 70% have not raised objections falls flat.