Almost 30 per cent villagers’ houses and land come under the wildlife sanctuary in Sattari taluka. These villages on the Goa-Karnataka border include Kumthol, Satre, Nanoda, Shigne, Shelpe, Uste, Karonzal and Karmali.
All the villagers are in fear because the Forest Department has started re-surveying forest area in the taluka and covering more area and are installing cement polls in the cashew plantations say the Sattari villagers.
Till today, not a single politician has raised our land issue in the Assembly. The Portuguese had given us the ownership of this land, where we are staying now, but the Forest Department has taken our ownership back with them, while making the changes in Form 14. For the past five decades we are fighting for the ownership of land with the Government, claim the Valpoi villagers.
In the year 1983, the then Goa Government had given us the land through an order. Almost 80 per cent of the villagers from Karonzal and Kumthol have order wherein the Government has clearly written that “we are the owners of this land. Now they are saying it’s a wildlife sanctuary. This means they have cheated us,” say Kumthol villagers.
“The forest has been saved by our ancestors not the Forest Department. The forest officials have created a mess and destroyed the forest, while selling fallen trees from forest area illegally,” says Harichandra Gawde, a Kumthol villager.
Earlier it was the forest reservation area, which is covering villages like Budruk Karmali, Kumthol, Karonzal, etc. Now it’s becomes wildlife sanctuary. And now the Forest Department officials have started doing survey in villages again and covering villagers’ cashew plantations area, while saying that it comes under wildlife sanctuary. So there is an urgent need to change in Forest Act of 1952, says Ranjeetsing Rane, a local from Sonal village.
Our cashew plantations and houses come under the wildlife sanctuary and now forest officers are doing survey and installing polls in our property. We feel that we are not living in liberated Goa,” says Pandurang Gaonkar, a Kumthol panch member.
We will now carry out an agitation; the Forest Department has cheated and looted us. They have taken all our property,” says Krishna Gawde, a Kumthol villager.
“The cashew trees are not forest trees, they are agriculture crops grown by the villagers. The Forest Department, cannot say that it’s a forest tree. The cashew trees are grown and nurtured by villagers who have all the rights. Now the Forest Department is saying it’s a forest reserved area which is totally false, says Vishwesh Prabhu, a social worker.
“We should not allow Forest Department to intrude in our property. We have to fight legally. We will file a petition in high court. So every villager has to submit their property documents and details,” say villagers who have been advised by a High Court advocate Shashikant Joshi.
“The Forest Department is carrying out a new survey of the forest area in Sattari Taluka and blocking the path of villagers for the past many days. This is not the good thing,” says Health Minister Vishwajit Rane.
“My villagers are growing agriculture crops and having fields irrigated by them in this forest area. Their livelihood depends only on this agriculture crops. So I am there with my people and I will stand with them. Some forest officers are not doing their work properly. We know the law. If forest officers are not listening to us, then my people and I will break all the poles installed recently in villagers’ property,” threatened the Valpoi MLA.
“The forest officers are quoting wrong rules and harassing villagers. I will not keep quiet. I will take this issue to the chief minister and also submit a memorandum to the Manohar Parrikar,” Vishwajit added.
