MARGAO: In a show of strength, the villagers of Mollo in Pale, Velsao filed their objections in large numbers before the Competent Authority for the Special Railway double tracking project on Friday morning, where they made it clear that they are not going to surrender their lands and are ready to fight the case legally.
In connection with notices that were served to the residents, by the Mormugao Deputy Collector’s office, which is also the office of the Competent Authority for the land acquisition proceedings, around 150-200 people showed up at Ravindra Bhavan in Baina, to submit their objections.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Goencho Ekvott (GE) Founder Orville Dourado Rodrigues, who is one of the principal figures guiding the villagers said, “These are fishermen and toddy tappers, those having traditional Goan jobs and this hamlet is like a heritage area. All of their houses are also touching each other on either side of the road and so by putting these survey numbers, it means they want to displace this entire locality for the railway project,” Rodrigues added.
The venue, which was earlier meant to be at the Mormugao’s Mamlatdar office in Vasco, was shifted to Ravindra Bhavan to accommodate the crowd.
The locals who were represented by their legal representatives pointed out various gaps in the notices that had been served to them that just had the overall survey numbers. They argued that the notice had insufficient information, which was not enough for the handover of their lands, which for many of them, was their biggest asset.
Adv Leona Barretto, who was representing some of the locals, pointed out that the notice just mentioned survey numbers but there was no physical demarcation done by the railways to ascertain which exact areas they were intending to acquire.
She further explained that this meant there was no clarity on the exact size of everyone’s property that is sought to be acquired.
Responding to queries from media persons, Adv Barretto criticised the Railways for having allegedly begun work in areas that the Railways do not have possession of and she alleged that this was an illegal act. She lamented that this work had caused a lot of harm to the locals and had polluted the local environment too.
Adv Barretto further added the locals received the notices just two days back and this was another form of harassment to the locals who are facing the loss of their homes.
While the villagers pointed out that they are taking legal recourse in the matter, Goencho Ekvott (GE) Founder Orville Dourado Rodrigues added that they have already approached the High Court against the manner in which the Railways have been going ahead with the expansion work.
Rodrigues added that the locals of Mollo had previously filed their objections repeatedly before the Competent Authority over the last few years but nothing had come out of that. Thus, they feel they have no other option but to knock on the doors of the court for relief. He rued the fact the Mormugao Deputy Collector has been transferred three times as well, which was another point of frustration for the locals who have been running from pillar to post.
Locals enraged at Railways trying to claim land rights by getting post facto survey numbers
Railways cannot claim the land belongs to them; locals say this new survey is being done to usurp ownership from the rightful landowners to the Railways
MARGAO: Villagers of Velsao-Pale-Issorsim expressed their outrage after finding an official government correspondence between the then Director of Directorate of Settlement and Land Records (DSLR) Johnson B Fernandes, and the Deputy General Manager (DGM) of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), S G Banerjee in May 2022, in which DSLR has informed RNVL without any survey numbers, Railways cannot claim the land belongs to them.
This correspondence has upset locals in view of the fact that a few months ago, the State government directed DSLR to undertake a survey across South Goa District in order to allot survey numbers to various land parcels so that Railways can claim ownership even though at present they have no record of rights.
The locals pointed out that contrary to what the Railways claim, the villagers have ownership documents that prove that they own the land right up to the railway tracks and that this new survey is being done to usurp ownership from the rightful landowners to the Railways who don’t have survey numbers to prove their ownership. They added that their families had owned the land even before the first single railway track was laid.
ON A WRONG TRACK
A few months ago, the State government directed DSLR to undertake a survey across the South Goa District in order to allot survey numbers to various land parcels
The locals pointed out that contrary to what the Railways claim, the villagers have ownership documents prove that villagers own land right up to the railway tracks
