Team Herald
BICHOLIM: Objecting to the land acquisition for the proposed international law college in Mayem when the contentious issue of evacuee property is still pending, the gram sabha on Sunday unanimously resolved to oppose the project with the villagers making their stance clear that this and other development projects will not be allowed until the land issues are settled.
The villagers pledged not to part away even an inch of land if the project does not benefit them. The villagers demanded that the government should expedite the process to settle the evacuee property issue.
The locals said they were facing hardship to avail various government benefits. The further called upon the government to appoint a deputy collector to exclusively settle or solve the problem of evacuee property.
When Mayem Sarpanch Krishna Chodankar asked the large gathering of gram sabha members to give their suggestions, the locals said many houses have not yet received numbers, while someone has challenged the evacuee property law passed by the government in court.
The villagers said, “The government wants to take up the issue of cashew orchards and agricultural land. When all these issues related to the people are pending with the government, where does the question of bringing such a big project in this property arise?”
Santosh Kumar Sawant, a villager said, “Around 2,50,000 square metres are to be acquired for the college. We suspect that some land dealings will happen because the decisions are being taken without taking locals into confidence. That is why we have passed a resolution that this project should not come up in the village.”
Rajesh Kalangutkar, another local, said, “People of Mayem are protesting because lakhs of square metres of land will be acquired for the project. The villagers will not allow any project to come up till they get their rights. We will not even give an inch of land on lease if we do not benefit from the project.”
The villagers said the government should first take up the villagers’ matter and give them their land rights. They also pointed out that the government has chosen a lush green field for the project.