CANACONA
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is also the forest minister, informed this in the assembly in response to a starred query of Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes.
Parrikar further informed the House that houses located in the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary have been registered with the panchayats and taxes are being paid. The department does not have information regarding the houses in notified forest area, whether they are registered with panchayats concerned and paying taxes and the same is being ascertained.
There is also good news and some bad news for the residential houses in notified forest areas, as the minister informed that houses in notified forest areas are processed under Forest Rights Act, where claims have been made, while encroachments are dealt as per the law.
He also informed that houses inside the protected areas may have to be relocated outside the protected areas as per existing guidelines. In the notified forest areas, 40 residential houses are having their claims pending before the forest settlement officer Quepem, 9 residential houses are under 20-point programme in Cotigao, while 7 residential houses which have come up by way of encroachments (one in Loliem and 6 in Cotigao) will be dealt as per the law. Similarly, 48 residential houses in Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary are registered with Cotigao Panchayat.
The location of these houses in deep Cotigao wildlife Sanctuary are Keri (10), Nadke (22), Saligalimol (1), Morfondamol (5), Bhutpal (8) and Endrem (2).
