It has been 30 years since the Salaulim Dam was built. Over 25 small and big villages were shifted out of their lands causing a total disconnect of culture heritage and spirituality attached to the gods and the land. As the water rises and subsides in the village, the saga of total failure of the Water Resource Department to either protect their own or the interests or the 71 families uncompensated evacuees is exposed.
The then Government under the rehabilitation scheme shifted people out of their areas into the villages of Valkini and Vadem and also gave them lands and houses. Even after two successful resolutions and assurances from the Government on the floor of the house in the last tenure there has been no respite.
Sadly several villagers still await the compensation of the Government for the losses they faced due to the shifting out. The villagers had left their lands with costly belongings after the water came into the areas. There are nearly 71 families, who, have even after several years of the construction of the dam and provision of the compensation, have failed to secure a rightful land for tilling or even for residence. It has been informed that several families still live on rental basis around the areas and several stay in the residences of their relatives.
Former MLA of Sanguem Subhash Faldesai who had raised this issue on the floor of the House in the last BJP Government told the villagers that he has got 2 assurances in 2 sessions to settle the matter. However, he said, “The WRD Department is the most lethargic and unscrupulous department. I say this because till date they have not even followed up on the issue wholeheartedly and in that bargain have offered massive tracks of land for encroachment,” said Subhash. Subhash further explaining that there are 5 types of cases of evacuees in the Selaulim project which are Monetary compensation, Plot for compensation, Monetary compensation plus plot, plot plus another plot (in anticipation of increase of dam height) and the last one is no benefit at all.
The former MLA said that he had managed to convince the double compensated people to hand over the extra benefit plot or the Rs 4 lakh so that there is rationalisation. However, he has expressed his sadness that the WRD has not even followed up on the same and has eventually left the entire plan in limbo.
Now, the villagers rehabilitated after the Selaulim irrigation Project have requested the newly formed government for the immediate conduct of the Selaulim Rehabilitation Committee meeting. The evacuees claim that the meeting has not been held for last seven years.
A former member of the Selaulim Rehabilitation Committee Mr Manoj Paryekar had said that though the meeting of the Selaulim Rehabilitation Committee used to be conducted every year, the Government has failed in conducting the meeting for seven years thereby depriving people affected by Selaulim project an opportunity to place their grievances before the Government.
Allocation of residential and agricultural plots to the 89 families affected by the project still remains to be completed.
It is shocking to understand that the 71 families which were inhabitants of Curdi Village, every year, helplessly watch their village submerge into Salaulim Dam. They are shocked that their names were never listed in the survey conducted by the department officials during the construction of the Salaulim Dam.
Even a resurvey of the land still dodges allocation of agricultural and housing plots to the families. However, some of the evacuees even after taking the benefit of the monetary support also use the land they had in the village.
Now it is also understood that the WRD acquired huge mass of land for a contingency plan when the height of the dam was supposed to be increased by 1.5 metres. The WRD allegedly doesn’t have a track of their land which has resulted in double benefit of land to evacuees. Some of the land has not even been taken from the Forest Department’s possession leaving it as a wasted asset.
