HC stays possession of Davorlim land by govt
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, OCT 27
In a development which should offer hope to the Davorlim villagers fighting against acquisition of their ancestral land, the high court has told the government not to take possession of the land admeasuring 1.15 lakh sq meters under acquisition at Davorlim for the proposed multi-purpose utility project.
When the petition filed by the Davorlim Communidade came up for hearing before the high court, the Advocate General Adv Subodh Kantak was told to file a reply to the petition and not to take possession of the land till the next date of hearing.
The Davorlim Communidade had filed the petition for a stay on the land acquisition process since the government has not made out the exact public purpose behind acquiring the huge land for the so-called multi-purpose utility project.
The Attorney of Davorlim Communidade Silvestre Niasso has recently petitioned to the Land Acquisition officer, Margao seeking three week time to file reply to the notice issued to the Communidade under section 9&10 of the Land Acquisition Act.
Meanwhile, the village Panchayat of Davorlim has once again lodged their strong objection to the land acquisition saying the acquisition of land will be detrimental to the interest of the villagers. They reiterated their demand for dropping the proceedings saying the land acquisition will not help the villagers in any way.
“The village of Davorlim is a village of farmers, with majority of the population engaged in agriculture as the agriculture is the main source of livelihood for the local populace”, the Panchayat told the deputy Collector.
The multi-purpose utility project had come under strong opposition from the villagers of Davorlim, who has contended that the land in question was preserved by their ancestors for the housing needs of the original inhabitants of the village.
It was at the instance of the district Collector, South G P Naik that the land in question has been put for acquisition. IN fact, perhaps for the first time in recent years, the Collector has sought to acquire land without specifying the public purpose or the projects intended to be set up on the land once acquired.
