Team Herald
VELSAO: Villagers from Velsao sat at a tense meeting with Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) officials on Monday with a firm demand: “Restore our right
of way”.
The meeting at the Velsao- Pale-Issorcim Panchayat office saw the local body directing the Railways to promptly remove the mud fill dumped in front of residents’ houses and vacate the land immediately. The meeting was held following mounting complaints over blocked access routes caused by railway
expansion work.
After the villagers firmly voiced their concerns, the RVNL officials reconsidered their stance and assured the panchayat that they would submit a revised plan regarding their ongoing construction plans including public access, new drainage facility.
Despite assurances from RVNL officials that their concerns would be addressed, villagers remain sceptical and have warned of intensified protests if immediate action is not taken regarding their demands.
Three different groups of citizens presented their concerns. The first group consisted of residents from Primeiro Vaddo, Velsao and Pale, living to the right of level crossing 26, facing the sea.
The second group comprised residents of Primeiro Vaddo who reside to the left of level crossing 26. The third group included residents from Issorcim.
Reiterated its stance, the panchayat emphasised that its order remained valid and instructing RVNL to remove the mud obstructing traditional access paths to homes situated opposite the railway track.
To accommodate the affected residents, the meeting had multiple sessions, allowing villagers from different areas to air their grievances. The locals also criticised the Railways for not only dumping mud in front of their house entrances and public access, which they alleged was illegal, they also listed out the extreme hardships they have been facing in either travelling out of the house or getting anyone to the house such as medical help for instance.
“Until now, RVNL has not provided us with any official plan that we could review and discuss with our villagers. However, RVNL officials have now assured us that they will submit their plan within the next 15 to 20 days. Once we receive it, we will present it to the residents for their feedback. At this stage, we cannot say whether the villagers will accept it or not,” said Diana Gouveia, Velsao Sarpanch.
Once RVNL submits their plans, the panchayat will hold another round of meeting with the affected land owners.
“In the meantime, we have requested RVNL to halt all work and submit proper land ownership documents if they have them. Additionally, we have urged them to remove the piles of soil that have been dumped in front of people’s houses, as it is causing serious obstruction. If a fire were to break out, even the fire brigade would not be able to reach the affected houses. Ideally, South Western Railway should have first addressed the road access issue before starting this project, but unfortunately, they failed to do so,” Diana added.
The primary demand raised by residents was the immediate removal of the mud heaps that had rendered their homes inaccessible. Additionally, they insisted on the construction of a proper drainage system after the previous one was destroyed during the double-tracking project. The absence of drainage has led to severe flooding during the past two monsoons, exacerbating their hardships.
RVNL proposed the construction of a new road to restore access, but discussions remain ongoing regarding land acquisition for the project.
But the main problem for the people is that the railway tracks are much higher than the level of their houses.
“This is a direct violation of the Railway Engineering Code, which mandates that railway authorities must first consult and seek approval from the local self-government body before initiating any such development work,” said Max D’Souza, Vice-Chairman of the Village Development Committee (VDC).
“We have now placed all our demands before them, and we expect them to complete these necessary tasks before monsoon. We also presented them with all the relevant documents, clearly proving that the land extending up to the railway line belongs to the residents,” said Max.
However, frustration among villagers was evident, with many alleging that their repeated pleas had been ignored.
They also accused RVNL of failing to provide legal documentation proving land ownership, while local homeowners asserted their rights with valid legal documents.
Adding to the complexity of the dispute, it was revealed that the matter is currently pending before the ISLR and District Court, both in Margao.
Goencho Ekvott (GE) founder member Orville Rodrigues said, “The villagers are no longer willing to listen to any explanations from the railway authorities. Through our collective unity today, we are sending a strong and clear message to South Western Railway: Vacate our land immediately!”
“Before anything else, remove the soil that has been dumped here, blocking our right of way. Let ISLR (Inspector of Survey & Land Records) determine the rightful ownership of the land instead of the railway arbitrarily taking control,” said Rodrigues.
He added that the locals have been showing and producing the documents to prove they own the land on so many occasions but that the Railways had yet to show documents to back their claims on land ownership.
On a concluding note, the residents demanded that the minutes of the meeting be formally recorded and submitted to the District Collector to ensure that their grievances and RVNL’s commitments were officially documented.