Team Herald
MAPUSA: The occupants of as many as 140 houses built on the land owned by the Cunchelim Comunidade now facing demolition following a survey by the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records, on Saturday claimed that they had paid money to the two persons -Raju Mandrekar and Raja Anthony- and constructed their houses.
The development comes in the wake of the land worth Rs 11 crore acquired for construction of a crematorium at Cunchelim allegedly misappropriated and sold to people for lakhs of rupees.
The occupants later rushed to the Mapusa Police Station and filed complaints against two persons stating that they had paid money and constructed their houses.
Unaware of the true landowners, panicked residents claimed they paid Raju money Mandrekar and Raja Anthony for plots ranging from 100 to 200 square meters.
The residents said, “We paid money to Raju Mandrekar and Raja Anthony. They told us that they had good relations with the landlord. Some told us that land belonged to the village panchayat. We purchased the land after they promised us all the infrastructure there.”
These residents complained that when they went to question Mandrekar, he refused to talk to them and summoned the police.
A resident Shikha Jha produced a copy of the No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued by the then Attorney of Comunidade of Cunchelim Amancio De Souza stating that the comunidade had no objection to the applicant to apply and obtain electricity and PWD water connections to the illegal structure in the land belonging to the Comunidade.
The NOC was issued as per a resolution adopted by the managing committee on March 30, 2022, which further stated that it is subject to the approval of Goa government under Article 372 of the Code of the Comunidades.
However, former Mapusa Municipal chairperson and the current attorney Michael Carrasco had a different story to tell.
He said, “There are only 30 illegal houses on the land admeasuring 20,000 sqms. The land was acquired by the North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) for the construction of a crematorium for three communities, but due to these illegal structures, our award money of Rs 11 crore is held up as the NGPDA wants the land free of encroachments.”
“When I was the president of Comunidade of Cunchelim, I demolished four structures last year. We even approached the court to get our money released since these encroachments mushroomed only after the land was acquired by the NGPDA for which we are not responsible,” he said.
When it was brought to his notice that some victims had issued a demand draft to the comunidade of Cunchelim, he clarified saying, “We have not accepted any demand draft or any money from them. We have categorically stated that the land is acquired by the government.”
“Most of the encroachments are by outsiders except for two Goans, who have allegedly accepted protection money from them,” he added.
Former NGPDA chairman and minister Nilkanth Halarnkar clarified that the land admeasuring over 17,000 sqm was earmarked as crematorium zone for the three communities in the year 2009.
“We only earmarked the zone and it was by the government i.e. Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) which initiated the land acquisition process,” he said.
Comunidade of Cunchelim president Shivanand alias Bappa Dhavjekar declined to comment, stating that he was preoccupied.
Activist Rajan Ghate demanded the immediate arrest of the fraudsters.