VASCO: Officials from the office of Mormugao mamlatdar and Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) Wednesday kick started a survey to identify illegal structures at Khariwado, Vasco, that are not covered under a rehabilitation package.
The exercise is undertaken in compliance of the High Court directives, issued while hearing an ongoing petition filed by Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) against illegal structures at Khariwado, and the directions issued by South Goa Collector Swapnil Naik.
Last week, officials from the mamlatdar office had identified all the 194 structures which were part of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed in 1998, wherein the MPT had assured to rehabilitate them. The survey report identifying the 194 structures have been submitted to the collector.
In the second phase, the officials would identify the structures which are not part of the rehabilitation package, and are located along the sea front stretch from T B Cunha Chawk to Hindu crematorium.
“As per the directions we have been enlisting the structures. This survey is to establish as to how many structures are not part of the 194-odd structures, and we would submit our report to the higher officials,” an official, a member of the survey team, informed Herald.
Meanwhile, commenting on the Khariwado structures that are facing demolition, Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida informed that initially MMC had identified and issued demolition notices to 363-odd structures at Khariwado. Of these, 66 structures were demolished by the MMC in the 2011, while others managed to obtain a stay, he said.
He said that many of the structures that were demolished in 2011 were actually located on private property.
Thus in order to protect the interest of fishermen community from Khariwado, he said, he initiated several joint meetings of stake holders after which the MPT agreed on a compromise formula under which it would not only rehabilitate the 194-odd structures by giving them 50 square meters of land to each, but would also construct a modern jetty for trawler owners and half portion of the beach would be left for the canoe owners in which MPT would provide all required fishing facilities for canoe owners.
Almeida said that many structures that were demolished in 2011 could have been saved had due procedure been followed, as they were constructed on private properties.
