the goan I network
MARGAO
Saying that “Las Goas” on the lines of Las Vegas will be the new identity of Goa, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday castigated the government for going out of the way to help the new capitalists that have been allowed to descend into Goa in a big way through massive land sales at and around Mopa at the cost of destroying the peaceful living of local communities by deception of providing employment to youth of the area.
Displaying records at a media briefing addressed by AAP Goa chief Elvis Gomes, general secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar, South Goa chief Rodney Almeida and Roque Mascarenhas, party leaders Sidharth Karapurkar said land conversions of pristine forest and agricultural lands and provisions made in the RP of 30 metre wide roads to help these land buyers, who are making a killing through the land transactions have literally made Mopa a scam of proportion bigger than any scam in the past.
“Be prepared for ‘Las Goas’ soon on the lines of Las Vegas. Identity of the present Goa will be available in the archives for posterity to know that once upon a time, there lived a Goa which was one with nature and known all over differently than the glitz and neon lights that will sparkle the nights,” thundered Elvis Gomes.
He said that the policies of the government will change the entire character of Goa into a gaming zone and the greed of the political parties was fueling the land speculation around Mopa, thus setting the stage for making Goans strangers in their own land.
Karapurkar showed records of land transactions around Mopa made by persons connected with political families. He showed a few transactions running into lakhs of square metres of land and said that this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Elaborating further, Karapurkar said that the Ranes, Deshprabhus had managed to convert lakhs of square metres of land and the prices of their properties had skyrocketed wherein the original inhabitants who were tenants of the lands were displaced by using the force of the State.
“The amendments to the Tenancy Act as well as TCP Act by introducing provisions of concepts like TDR were meant to finish off the poor completely for the sake of the new capitalists.”
Among the many whose names figured in the list of new land owners around Mopa, he said, was that of Wilson Godinho, brother of the present minister in the BJP government.
Karapurkar said a number of companies have bought huge chunk of land around the Mopa airport, making the airport the biggest land scam, more than the mining scam.
