Team Herald

Sanguem: Baplo Kharat, the newly-elected Sarpanch of Kalay Village Panchayat has urged the government to immediately appoint a Forest Settlement Officer for settling the claims filed by the villagers to get their properties out of Bhagwan Mahavir Wild Life Sanctuary.

In a representation handed over to Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, he also urged the government to conduct hearings in Kalay village for the benefit of the villagers.

The representation states that since the time of the notification of Bhagwan Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary, the villagers have been put under a lot of hardship as the Forest Department is allegedly harassing the villagers in the light of the notification.

Villagers claim that the notification is very bad on the face of it as the entire Kalay village including Kalay Railway Station has been put under the Bhagwan Wildlife Life Sanctuary. This has made the villagers face extreme hardships even to cut a single tree from their private property and transport the same as the Forest Department has refused to issue tree cutting permissions.

The representation further states that since the hearings are held mostly outside Kalay village, the villagers have been facing extreme difficulties in putting up their appearances before the settlement officer.

For some period of time, the villagers have been travelling all the way to Valpoi to attend the hearings as the cases initially were conducted at Valpoi.

The villagers are however thankful to the then Forest Settlement Officer Navati who considered the troubles faced by the villagers and conducted the hearings in the village during his posting as the Forest Settlement Officer.

However since March this year, that post has been lying vacant. This has delayed the disposal of claims filed by the villagers, which has only added to their sufferings.

The panchayat has also submitted their representation to the Deputy Chief Minister and Conservator of Forest.