the goan I network
MARGAO
With the government initiating a consultative dialogue on the contentious issue of Kabrastan, TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai on Saturday made it amply clear that the issue of the construction of the St Joaquim Church, Borda will be taken up and resolved simultaneously along with issues concerning the kabrastan.
"This consultative process initiated by the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will take all the stake holders into confidence. I had spoken to the St Joaquim Chaplain Fr Vincent. The CSJP officials had represented the Archbishop at the meeting with the Chief Minister. And, there is one unanimity amongst all concerned that a human being deserves a decent burial or cremation after his death," he told the media on the sidelines of a function at the Ravindra Bhavan here on Saturday.
While saying that CM's initiated has remained inconclusive, Sardesai, however, said that CM had outlined a host of measures, which will form the basis for future discussions on the contentious issue.
He said the MoU signed by the Margao Municipality and the Jamia Masjid, Margao giving the acquired land admeasuring 30,000 sq mts to the Muslim body for maintenance, will be rescinded and the property will now solely vest with the civic body for maintenance. "The Municipality will develop the kabrastan and will also undertake its maintenance. The Chief Minister has said that no Masjid will come up at the site and the entire area will be declared as silent zone. All permissions will be obtained by the government before commencing work on the site," he said.
While saying that the government will consult all the stake holders before taking up work on the burial ground, the TCP Minister hastened to add that the construction of the St Joaquim Church, Borda will also be addressed simultaneously.
When asked whether the government will make provision for other religious denominations, including the small Christian sects, for burial grounds on the acquired land at Sonsodo, Sardesai said that since the land has been acquired by the government, no one will have monopoly on the acquired land. "The government has not closed its mind on accommodating other religious sects in respect of burial grounds on the acquired land. The issue of the small Christian sects was taken up by social activist late Adv Satish Sonak and the government will try and work out a solution," he said.
‘Land owners interest will be protected'
MARGAO: Will the coalition government headed by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar mete out justice for the Niz Goemkar, the Aninha Fernandes family, who were left in the lurch after the Digambar Kamat government bulldozed its way by acquiring the family land at Sonsodo?
While the Chief Minister and his TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai have set in motion the consultative dialogue to resolve the contentious Kabrastan issue, it's still unclear whether the coalition government will compensate the Fernandes family by way of alternate land for in lieu of acquiring 16,000 sq mts of land at Sonsodo.
When the media questioned the TCP Minister whether the government would do justice to the Fernandes family given that attempts are underway to
resolve the kabrastan imbroglio, Sardesai said it is a fact that the Fernandes family has been displaced and disposed by the land acquisition.
"Some of the family members are my voters in Fatorda constituency. Although nothing can be done at this stage given the time bar, the government will have to do something for the family. The family has been displaced for nothing. We will have to protect their interest", the TCP minister Vijai Sardesai asserted.
