PANJIM: Alleging that the Defence forces are illegally grabbing land in Goa since liberation, the Congress on Thursday demanded a white paper on land occupied by the Navy and Army in the State, including the islands which are inaccessible to the locals.
Addressing the media, Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Shantaram Naik said the Defence forces cannot grab State land illegally. “I demand that State government issues a white paper on the total land in possession of the Navy and Army in Goa,” he said.
The MP sought to know whether the BJP-led government has made any attempts to get back land from the Defence. “There is no doubt that Defence requires land in the coastal belts but they cannot grab it illegally. The Naval force came to Goa at the time of liberation. Post that they should have gone back but no, they stayed in Goa and illegally kept on grabbing land,” Naik alleged.
Claiming that State government has succumbed to Central forces, Naik said the State is giving away land ‘right left and centre’.
Pointing to the Union Defence Ministry proposal for 150 acres of land at Naqueri village in South on a permanent basis for holding DefExpo, the MP demanded that State should give clear picture on the issue. “We want to know whether government has taken any cabinet decision on allowing holding of the DefExpo and on permanent allocation of land,” he said.
The Congress leader said that apart from Defence, the Union Home Ministry is now working on a proposal to develop five islands in the State – three in Vasco and two in Canacona. There is no clarity on whether the State has granted an NOC to the Home Ministry for the purpose, he added.
Naik, however, supported the government’s demand for scrapping or lowering of export duty on low-grade iron ore. “I am with the demand of the State government. Curtailing export duty will help in immediate and vigorous resumption of mining activities. Lakhs of people dependent on the business will get employment,” he said.
At the same time, the MP appealed to the government to explore the possibility of utilizing the low-grade ore, currently exported to China, for local consumption.
