No headway in setting up proposed housing board on 1.26 lakh sq mts property; outcome in Vigilance probe still unknown
Photo Credits: land acquired by the Goa Housing Board
.................
The then government ruling the State in the mid-90’s had bulldozed its way to acquire prime property admeasuring 1.26 lakh sq mts owned by private land owners from Panzorconne-Cuncolim for the avowed objective of setting up a proposed housing board. Two decades down the line, the land is virtually lying idle, with neither the Goa Housing Board (GHB) handing over possession of the land in question to the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) for development nor has curtains come down on the Vigilance probe into the allegations of huge encroachment into the acquired property, reports Guilherme Almeida
...............
Will the Parsekar-led BJP government throw light on the fate of the 1.26 lakh sq metres of prime land acquired by the Goa government in the mid-90’s for the proposed Housing Board at Panzorconne-Cuncolim? Or, will there be an outcome to the Vigilance probe into the allegations that a huge portion of the acquired land is no more in possession of the Goa Housing Board? Well, more than a decade-and-half after the then government had moved with alacrity to acquire the prime land belonging to local families of Panzorconne, the fate of the acquired land remains unknown.
Otherwise, just consider this. Though the land in question was acquired by the Goa Housing Board, the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) has asked the Housing Board to hand over possession of the land. The reason is simple. GSUDA says the agency had deposited the amount of the land in question years now, but the land is still to come in its possession till date. Says GSUDA Member Secretary Elvis Gomes: “GSUDA has written letters to the Goa Housing Board to hand over possession of the acquired land since we have already deposited the amount in lieu of the land. So far, however, the land transfer has not taken place."
Elvis informed that GSUDA had drawn up tentative plans to utilise a portion of the acquired land to accommodate local schools at one place to ease traffic congestion in the town and use the balance area for recreational needs of the Panzorconne locals.
When The Goan contacted GHB Managing Director S Shetye to shed light on the acquired land at Panzorconne in question, he said that a dispute over the ownership of a portion of the land has kept all plans on hold.
After returning to power in 2012, the Parrikar government had referred to the Vigilance the file pertaining to the Cuncolim land to inquire whether a portion of the acquired land was encroached upon by some private parties following reports that though the GHB had initially acquired land admeasuring 1.26 lakh sq mts, the board was now in possession of only around 1.05 lakh sq mts. “I will also find out with the Vigilance over the fate of the probe, if any, into the acquired land," Shetye told The Goan.
The acquired land had its own twists and turns since the time it was acquired in the mid-90’s.
During its first stint in power in mid-2000, then Housing Minister, Babu Azgaonkar in the BJP-led Manohar Parrikar government tried to push a housing board scheme on the 1.26 lakh sq mts in mid-2004 despite opposition from Cuncolkars towards the project on grounds that the prime property will only play host to migrants. Agitation against the project intensified on August 11, 2004 when Azgaonkar came to lay the foundation stone for the project. Local residents led by the convenor of anti-Housing Board Action Committee Altinho Gomes and 19 others, including then local MLA Joaquim Alemao were detained and arrested by the police for disrupting the function. Faced with stiff opposition from the residents of Panzorconne and Cuncolim and a significant role played by then MLA Matanhy Saldanha, Parrikar had no option than to keep the housing project on hold.
The successive Congress government led by Pratapsing Rane finally scrapped the housing project on the acquired land and gave its nod to GSUDA to deposit an amount of Rs 5 crore in lieu of the land. Till date, however, the land has still not come in possession of the GSUDA.
The Cuncolim MLA, Joaquim Alemao, during his tenure as Urban Development Minister had laid bare his plans to lease out the land for an all India football academy. The academy, however, did not see light of the day after the proposal did not find favour with the local populace.
The return of the BJP-government in 2012 saw the new dispensation referring the file pertaining to the land in question to the Vigilance probe. Till date, however, the outcome of the probe remains unknown.
