PANJIM: Mopa Vimantal Pidit Xetkari Samiti (MVPXS) has alleged that the Goa government is trying to forcibly grab the land of six villages of Pernem for the proposed Mopa airport by creating terror in the minds of villagers by deploying a huge police force.
Speaking to the media, MVPXS Secretary said that a report was published in a newspaper on Tuesday falsely stating that local residents were physically stopping government officials from carrying out their task.
He said that following the report the government deployed over 50 policemen on Wednesday in the village to create fear and terror in minds of villagers, which is against democratic and legal norms.
“It is clear that the government is now resorting to lies to create false grounds to try and forcibly grab our lands, rather than uphold the rule of law. The government is not interested in the welfare of our State, but only in helping speculators make fast money through land speculation in Pernem taluka and Sindhudurg taluka of Maharashtra, while displacing tens of thousands of unsuspecting local residents,” Sandip Kambli said.
The government is employing underhand and unethical methods to delay the final hearings in the appeals challenging the environmental clearance before NGT for over one year, he said.
“The attempt to move the NGT to Delhi is also a desperate attempt to deny us justice, to defeat the law and to help speculators make quick profits at the cost of Goa’s tourism industry, local communities and environment,” Kambli said.
He retaliated stating that the land on which the airport is proposed is in the possession of the local communities, and most of them have not given consent for the project till date.
“We are determined not to part with the lands that belong to our future generations, nor are we prepared to allow the destruction of this plateau that sustains the lives of over 10,000 residents of Pernem taluka,” he said.
Government should respect the law to stop working for private profit by dropping the anti-people and anti-development Mopa Airport, he mentioned.
