Team Herald
MAPUSA: Large number of people who have constructed nearly 140 allegedly illegal houses on Comunidade and government land at Cunchelim on Wednesday gathered at the Mapusa Police Station demanding action against those ‘agents’ who had them for a ride.
They alleged that they have been cheated by a group who have taken money to the tune of Rs 4,500 to Rs 10,000 per square metre from them by assuring them that they will not be evicted. The group also named some of the persons who have taken money from them. Nearly 20,000 square metres of land which was partly taken on lease from Comunidade and partly purchased from a private party was earmarked by the government for constructing a burial ground that would cater to different religious communities. The alleged illegal houses have come up in this land.
House owners said they came to know that they were cheated after the Land Survey Department officials visited Cuchelim to carry out survey of the land.
It is reliably learnt that despite being illegal, they were structures were allotted water and electricity connections. Sources reveal that many cashew farmers from Siolim Sodiem have allegedly sold communidade land to migrants in Cunchelim where illegal structures have mushroomed.