Team Herald
MARGAO: In a victory for Velsao residents, railway authorities on Tuesday backed off from contested land after a confrontation that culminated in intervention from South Goa District Collector Egna Cleetus.
However, locals await a formal written order
from her.
Earlier on Tuesday, a large group of people assembled at Primeirovaddo, Velsao, in solidarity with the affected residents, who have found themselves landlocked in their own homes, due to the recent railway construction work that has blocked their traditional right of way.
When the railway workers initially attempted to continue construction work, they were met with strong resistance from the residents who have consistently maintained ownership of the land, citing Portuguese-era title documents.
Former Cortalim MLA Alina Saldanha, Velsao Sarpanch Diana Gouveia, Goencho Ekvott (GE) Secretary Olencio Simoes were also present for the protest while South Goa MP Captain Viriato Fernandes along with GE Founder Orville Dourado Rodrigues engaged with the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) officials in the presence of a heavy police force.
At first, the RVNL officials claimed they had had possession of the land for over 100 years, asserting their right to construct the double tracking for SWR.
However, this claim was immediately challenged by the MP, who questioned why then, had the SWR filed a case with the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records (DSLR) seeking possession, if their ownership was already established.
Viriato then referenced a crucial May 2022 correspondence between the DSLR Director Johnson B Fernandes and RVNL Deputy General Manager S G Banerjee. The letter explicitly stated that without specific title documentation from the Portuguese government or survey numbers, Railways cannot claim ownership of the land.
"Unless there is any specific title given in favour of the Railways by the then Portuguese government, be it nature of a grant or aforamento or in the nature of an award declared under the land acquisition Act 1894, we would not be in a position to say that the land as sought to be certified is of the Railways," read an important extract from the letter DSLR had written to RVNL regarding this matter.
The locals pointed out that the DSLR response was in connection to an application that had been filed by the SWR in 2022 to the DSLR, asking that the SWR be granted title documents for the land which villagers consider as their Right
Of Way.
It was also pointed out that the matter along with other grievances with the Railways is currently being heard at the Inspector of Survey and Land Records (ISLR) Court in Margao, with 46 respondents including the Velsao-Pale-Issorcim village panchayat.
Finally, after all these discussions and following a long telephonic conversation between the Collector (South distrct) and the South Goa MP, it was revealed that the Collector had apparently acknowledged potential contempt of court given the sub-judice nature of the case.
The MP told reporters that the Collector said she would immediately issue a stop work order to SWR/RVNL. The MP also requested the Collector to issue an order asking the Railways to restore the land to its original condition
Upon hearing the stance of the Collector, the railway officials promptly withdrew from the area, moving their heavy machinery and mud-laden trucks out of the disputed site.
While this represents a victory for the villagers, they continue to await a formal order ensuring work won't resume in the coming days, vowing to continue their resistance against what they allege is an unauthorised encroachment on their fundamental right to access their own homes.
While there is fear amongst the locals that the State Government has plans to hand over the land to SWR, the residents still want ISLR to decide on the matter given that the villagers possess title documents showing their ownership extends to the railway line. The case, which began its first hearing on January 6, 2025, is scheduled for its third hearing on February 17. A suit has also been filed in the District Court after ISLR had not granted an interim stay order, as
requested.