'Won't give inch of land,' angry Vel'lekars react to ... - Real Estate India

??|?? August 23, 2012 ?? 08:59am ??|Contributed by manoja

VELIM: The revenue department?s recent notification to acquire 30,000 sq m of land for the expansion of Cutbona fishing jetty, hardly days before the proceedings were to lapse, has stirred a hornet?s nest in Velim.

Villagers have resolved not to part with any of their land in protest against the government ?bulldozing? its way over the land acquisition proceedings. The notification was issued under Section 7 of the Land Acquisition Act.

The Cutbona Trawler Owners Association, on the other hand, which feels the jetty?s expansion and upgradation are the ?need of the hour?, would like to hold ?negotiations? with villagers, the fisheries department and the project?s consultants. Association members believe the upgradation is ?more important? and therefore the land being acquired need not be 30,000 sq m. They insist they do not want the project at the cost of antagonizing the locals.

The issue, nonetheless, generated a lot of heat at the Velim village panchayat?s recent gram sabha. The support extended to the locals by the Velim MLA Benjamin Silva is also being viewed as a shot-in-the-arm for opponents of the project. What has fuelled the locals ire is not just the jetty upgradation project or the fishmeal plant, but the way the government has gone about acquiring prime farming land without taking the panchayat into confidence.

?Neither the fisheries department nor the land acquisition authority (the South Goa collectorate) bothered to inform the panchayat about the plans for land acquisition,? said Ramona Almeida, convener of the Velim Civic and Consumer?Forum?(VCCF) that has been in the forefront of the agitation.

?Only when the locals questioned the panchayat over the matter two years ago did correspondence begin between the panchayat and the land acquisition officer. And?yes, there was a mention of the fishmeal plant in one of those letters from the land acquisition authority then,? she explained.

As there was no transparency over the project, the locals had demanded a public hearing, ?which has so far not taken place?, said Almeida.

The villagers had also submitted a 24-point questionnaire to the fisheries department and the land acquisition authority over the project, which, the locals claim, has so far remained unanswered. One of the queries was concerning the proposed fishmeal plant.

?We have very limited land resources and we just cannot afford to part with such a huge swathe of land, especially when 19,000-odd sq m acquired by the government years ago has not been fully utilized,? said Almeida. She stressed that the locals have decided not to give any more land to the government ?whatever may be the purpose of acquisition?.

Hector Colaco, a social activist from the village, believes the project will not accrue any benefits to the locals. ?There are only 8-9 people in Velim who own about 16 trawlers, and they too are opposed to any land acquisition. The project will only bring in more and more migrant labour force to our village. The project will benefit only the big trawler owners, while leaving local fishermen in the lurch,? Colaco said.

Echoing Colaco?s views, Almeida questioned the purpose of land acquisition for ?public purpose?. ?Here the villagers are the public, and when they are opposed to the project, when the locals in the fishing business have given in writing that they are against any land acquisition, who is benefitting from the project?? asked Almeida.

She added, ?We demand total transparency in the project. This is prime agricultural and khazan land which has been classified as an eco-sensitive zone, and the government just can?t bulldoze its plans over the villagers.? Terming the expansion and the upgradation of the jetty a urgent necessity, members of the Cutbona Trawler Owners Association, stressed that they do not wish to have the project at the cost of antagonizing the locals.

?We have been demanding proper facilities at the jetty for the last 30 years, but successive governments just ignored our demands,? association president Patrick D?Silva said. Pointing out that the previous Congress government ?heeded our demand and appointed a consultant for the project?, he said, ?We have always held that no project should come up in the village without an environmental impact assessment report, and that the local panchayat should take the right decision at the right time. We do not want to make money at the cost of the locals and the environment.? Further stressing that there is no fishmeal plant envisaged in the project, D?Silva said he is willing to have a meeting with the villagers and the fisheries department, along with the consultants, for ?negotiations?.

?What we have asked for, and what is provided in the project report, are basic facilities at the jetty, including a restroom and recreation hall for the labourers. If the villagers are opposed to the government acquiring 30,000 sq m, a smaller area can be acquired and only the essential facilities set up. It is absolutely essential that the jetty is upgraded, otherwise it will drastically affect fish production as no trawler owner will go in for expansion of business,? D?Silva said.

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Wont-give-inch-of-land-angry-Vellekars-react-to-govt-land-grab-for-jetty-expansion/articleshow/15609570.cms

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