CANACONA
The scheduled demolition of 78 houses built on comunidade land at Agonda on Tuesday was postponed at the last moment, reportedly due to non-availability of police personnel to provide necessary protection to the demolition squad.
According to sources, the Administrator of Comunidades (South) had formed teams to undertake the demolition of 78 houses, but a request to Goa Police to provide protection to the demolition squad got negative response from police authorities.
“Police authorities reportedly expressed their inability to provide the protection due to deputation of personnel for G20 security arrangements. A new date will be finalised for the demolition,” informed the source.
While authorities were giving final touches to the proposed demolition, sources said Speaker and Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar along with Agonda Sarpanch Fatima Rodrigues had approached Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at Panaji on Monday.
Sawant is reported to have initially refused to intervene in the matter, but later assured to look into the matter, sources added.
The postponement of the demolition has come as a major relief to the affected residents.
They had feared the demolition of their structures on Tuesday, but neither the machinery nor the demolition squad reached the village even after 10 am.
They were then informed that the demolition drive was postponed to an unspecified date due to non-availability of police force to provide the necessary police protection to the demolition squad.
The demolition is reportedly the outcome of a court matter for the past several years, compelling the Administrator of Comunidades (South) to act. Incidentally, another matter is also being heard in a lower court of Canacona.
The 78 houses, mostly residential units constructed by local residents spread in three different locations of the village are reportedly marked for demolitions in comunidade land.
It may be recalled that following the demolition order by the Administrator of Comunidades (South), Congress leader Janardhan Bhandari had appealed to the government not to demolish the houses of the Bahujan and minority section in Canacona.
Later, AAP leader Sandesh Telekar along with Bhandari had met the affected people and made a fervent appeal to the government to defer the demolition and to take measures to legalise/regularise the houses belonging to Bahujan and other minority communities in Canacona.
