PONDA: The tribal families at Querim on Wednesday protested at Kranti Maidan, Ponda for justice against their tenanted land allegedly grabbed by landlords, who reportedly had sold those lands to migrants, without considering objections of tenants who are earning livelihood by growing cashews and vegetables since several decades.
Dinesh Gaude, Village Development Committee (VDC) member at Querim Panchayat, who accompanied the affected tribal families, said hundreds of cashew trees owned by tribals were felled at Querim in No Development Zone by selling those lands to migrants keeping tenants in dark. He demand action and justice by government. Says landlords conducting sale of their tenanted land illegally.
An elderly lady protester Shelavati Gaude from Nallem Querim said, “I have lost livelihood as hundreds of cashew trees have been forcibly cut for land development. The families are harassed by being harassed by Jharkhand-based migrants.
They brought in earth movers in our land and also brought material for fencing of it.”
She said that without her approval, landlord can’t sell her property. She said the tribal families filed several complaint and Panchayat and Police should stop the illegal land grabbing.
The families said they have no money to fight court cases nor money to pay fees of advocates and thus government should give them justice by initiating procedure to record their properties in their names by conducting probe and tenant survey, as many tenants could not be recorded during 1975 land survey.
The farmers said though they are tilling and cultivating the land in their possession, these were not recorded in their name and being illiterate, they were unaware about procedure to record their names in land survey records.
They accused the landlords of taking advantage of this situation and executing sale deeds. They also alleged that those purchasing the lands, especially migrants, are threatening them to vacate the land. Due to this, they are fearing of losing their land, which they inherited from forefathers.
Around 25 tribal family members from Nallem Querim pointed out that there is an attempt to grab the land in their possession, which they have cultivated for more than hundred years and inherited from forefathers.
The families said despite there are Goa Agricultural Tenancy Act in force, the government had not initiated any procedure to record their names in tenant column, due to which the landlords started selling portion of their lands to migrants, thus depriving them of their land which they are in possession since more than century.
