PANJIM: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday alleged that few ruling party MLAs were involved in purchasing and selling properties attached by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) from land grabbers in the coastal areas of North Goa.
Speaking to mediapersons in the party office, AAP State convenor Amit Palekar said that though the one-man commission had submitted its report to the government eight months back, he had now received reports that properties attached by the SIT were up for sale. Ministers and few ruling party MLAs were involved in purchasing and selling these properties at Assagao in Bardez taluka, he claimed.
“I have documents to prove involvement of a few BJP MLAs in purchase and sale of such properties which were seized from land grabbers. We have information that after the arrest of four main accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) these things started. This is something very serious and this is a very serious allegation I am making on the basis of files that I have received in the last few days,” Adv Palekar said.
The AAP State convenor charged that the SIT had become ‘another mode of extortion’ than giving justice to genuine Goan land owners. What will the government do? The government had to protect these properties. It does not give right to the government to usurp these lands and ultimately sell it to real estate lobby, Adv Palekar said, warning that if required he will reveal the details showing involvement of few BJP MLAs and Ministers in the purchase and sale of properties in Bardez taluka.
“This is nothing but a huge level of corruption. First land grabbing was linked to criminals who were arrested and now the government had become land grabbers for sure,” he said.
Criticising the government for the ‘controversial’ Investment Promotion Bill (IPB), he claimed that it will devastate the livelihood opportunities of Goans and the environment of the State.
This bill is nothing short of a Special Economic Zone (SEZs) drafted by the real estate lobby and it gives draconian powers to the Chief Minister and his colleagues. The bill proposes a board chaired by the Chief Minister, which would have supreme authority and certain proposed amendments would take away powers of local bodies as well as the GIDC, the town and country planning (TCP) department, and other departments. Under the guise of this board, the government aims to set its own rules, selling Goa to outsiders, he warned, accusing the government of acting as chief real estate agents.
Reacting to the AAP allegations, BJP spokesman Giriraj Pai Vernekar said, “Palekar should stop making baseless allegations. If he has proof then people of Goa have a right to know. These people in AAP leadership positions are acting as main real estate agents. They were arrested in the past for forging and tampering documents.”
