MARGAO
Smiles lit the faces of the tribal families inhabiting the forest areas in South Goa as they finally received the long-awaited sanads for their houses and fields located in the forest areas under the Forest Rights Act.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant complimented the 455 beneficiaries as he distributed the sanads on Saturday, but in the same vein sounded a word of caution to the beneficiaries “ do not sell the land, but avail government schemes to boost production and hand over the same to the future generations.
The Chief Minister further said the government is committed to dispose of all the 7,000 Forest Rights cases from South Goa within a year, though he admitted that the administration is facing a gigantic task to achieve the purpose.
Disposal of Forest Rights cases under the Forest Rights Act has been moving at a snail’s pace since the Act came into force over a decade ago. The government had succeeded in handing over sanads to around 355 beneficiaries over a year ago and distributed around 455 on Saturday.
“The process has been moving at a slow pace over the last 10 years. Our tribal brothers and sisters have been patiently waiting for the sanads to the land they have been inhabiting over the decades. They had to first wage a battle for their tribal rights and had to anxiously wait for the sanads,” the CM said.
Exuding confidence in settling around 5,000 claims by the next year, the Chief Minister said the government has committed the cases within a year and a half.
He added: “Around two generations of tribal people have fought for the forest rights sanads. They even had fears about whether they would ever get their houses and fields in their name or whether the government will raze them down. I am happy to announce that these 455 beneficiaries are now the owners of their houses and fields from today.”
The Chief Minister complimented South Goa district Collector Jyoti Kumari and her entire team of revenue officials for having put their minds and soul towards the disposal of the Forest Rights case.
He also made a fervent plea to the people to help the tribal beneficiaries in completing the procedures so that the remaining cases are disposed of at the earliest.
He advised the beneficiaries not to dispose of the land, but to protect them for future generations. “Avail various government schemes and adopt advanced technology to boost production on the land in question,” he added.
