Land swap with Chapel Confraria set to resolve burial ground impasse
With a deed of exchange on the table, dedicated access to Sonsodo’s proposed kabrastan may soon be a reality.
Photo Credits: The Goan
MARGAO
In a significant development that could pave the way for resolving the long-standing road access issue to the proposed kabrastan at Sonsodo, the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) on Wednesday approved the execution of a Deed of Exchange to facilitate unrestricted access to the burial ground.
The proposal for Grant of Easement, however, did not find favour with the civic body, with the Council insisting that easement to land which the Confraria of St Joaquim Chapel is willing to provide as access to the MMC-acquired property at Sonsodo for the proposed kabrastan, does not grant ownership rights to the land.
“Easement is not an ownership right. Hence, the MMC should ask the Chapel Confraria to execute a Deed of Exchange wherein the land in question admeasuring 1,000 square metres is exchanged for the property in possession of the St Joaquim Confraria leading to the cemetery,” municipal engineer Deepak Desai explained to the Margao city fathers.
At the special council meeting chaired by civic chief Damu Shirodkar, the issue took centre stage as the city fathers discussed the kabrastan imbroglio, with the municipal engineer explaining that the parties to the dispute on the contentious “road access” to the proposed burial ground have reached a mutual understanding to swap and exchange land to provide the road access. He, however, said that the interests of the municipality and the parties will be better served if the Confraria of the St Joaquim Chapel executes a Deed of Exchange instead of a Grant of Easement, considering that an easement does not confer ownership of the land.
The council resolution will be forwarded to the municipal lawyer, Adv Padiyar, which will be placed before the High Court in the Public Interest Litigation at the next hearing.
The proposed kabrastan/burial ground at Sonsodo has been hanging fire over the last one and a half years over the question of road access to the MMC-acquired property admeasuring 30,191 square metres despite High Court directions to the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) to build the proposed kabrastan within a time-frame. The proposal, however, hit a roadblock after the GSUDA-appointed consultant pointed out there’s no road access to the property other than the existing road leading to the St Joaquim Chapel cemetery.
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MMC to drop 'encroachment' reference following uproar
MARGAO: Margao municipal councillors took strong exception to the use of the word “encroachment” of land by the Confraria of St Joaquim Chapel during a discussion on the road access to the proposed kabrastan at Sonsodo.
MMC chairperson Damu Naik later assured the agitated city fathers that the council would not use the word encroachment while drafting the resolution passed in respect of the Deed of Exchange.
Cutting across party lines, councillors belonging to the Goa Forward, Nimisha Faleiro and Pooja Naik, and BJP-backed Camilo Barretto and Milagrina Pereira were on their feet demanding to know how come the municipality used the word encroachment by the Confraria in the note put up for discussion on the burial ground.
Councillor Nimisha queried how the Confraria can be charged with encroachment on the property acquired by the MMC in 2011 when the St Joaquim Chapel cemetery has existed at Sonsodo since 1995. She asserted the word encroachment gives a negative impression that the Chapel had encroached on the acquired land when it was the Margao municipality which acquired the existing road leading to the cemetery in 2011.
BJP-backed councillor Camilo Barretto demanded the deletion of the word encroachment by the Chapel Confraria when the Chapel took the initiative to resolve the “road access” issue.
Barretto also sought to know how the municipality is handing over the entire land admeasuring 30,191 square metres to one community when the parcel of land was acquired by the civic body 15 years ago to set up burial grounds for three religious communities.
