VASCO: The tussle over who owns about six lakh square metres of land, which the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) has reclaimed from the Zuari has taken a piquant turn with the port stating that the land belongs to them under a Special Gazette notification of the Central government. At the same time, the Goa government, in the Assembly, has clearly stated that under the Goa Land Revenue Code, the land, even though it comes under the port limits belongs to the government. It is the State government which has to allot survey numbers of the land, which should indicate where the ownership lies.
But speaking to Herald, the Deputy Chairman of MPT maintained, “That is only a formality. The Goa government only has to give survey numbers, the land belongs to MPT.”
Meanwhile NGOs, civil society organisations and many people of Vasco have commended Herald’s reportage on the issue and on this issue want the Goa government to take a clear stand on the ownership of this reclaimed land.
Captain Viriato Fernandes, Convenor of Goencho Avaaz organization said, “I would like to congratulate the “Herald” newspaper for laying bare the hidden agenda of MPT and the illegal manner it has been going about destroying our rivers and environment. The recent case of reclaiming land for eventual storage of coal shows that MPT has turned out to be a habitual offender”
He further said the LAQ raised by MLA Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco in the Assembly in June 2019, exposes the role of MPT; and that the admission by the State government that it has not given land to MPT, raises serious doubts about them (MPT).
“Even giving land on lease in 2010 to a private firm for Nauxim Marina is an illegal act. Just a couple of years back, the Port Trust was slapped with a huge fine by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for illegal dredging. And despite a series of complaints, MPT has been defying all laws, grabbing land and reclaiming rivers and turning out to be the main entity responsible for making Goa into a coal hub, with the tacit support of crony capitalists and politicians.”
“And if the proposed Major Ports Authority Bill 2020 introduced in March 2020 is passed in Parliament, it will make MPT a State within a State. The time has come to rise and hold MPT accountable for all its omissions and commissions” Fernandes added.
Peter Andrade, a vigilant citizen from Vasco said, “If around 6 lakhs square metres has been reclaimed, then where has that displaced water gone? Along with capital dredging, is that the cause of the elimination of Kharewado beach? Is it the reason that every monsoon, along with the sands, the shoreline vegetation of Goan beaches is being destroyed? A further reclamation of land at berth nos 8 and 9 also involving large scale reclamation has been proposed by MPT, on which a public hearing has already been conducted and was exposed by environmental activists”.
Sanjay Redkar, activist and a member of the ‘Goa Against Coal’ movement asked, “How can MPT ask a survey number for a reclaimed land? Although the land has been reclaimed, asking for a survey number doesn’t make it legal.” Redkar further opined that the government should immediately deny the survey number to the reclaimed land asked by MPT.
The issue is in the court of the Mormugao Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). The Goa government needs a closure of this case, especially in the light of MPT not just reclaiming the land from the Zuari river, but for all practical purposes functioning as the rightful owner of it.
