MARGAO
The Laxmikant Parsekar-led BJP government had apparently rushed to transfer and hand over the Davorlim Comunidade land admeasuring 1.15 lakh sq mts acquired for the multi-purpose utility project lock, stock and barrel to the Education department without considering a proposal from former South Goa Collector Sachin Shinde, IAS, recommending allotment of a portion of the acquired land for the religious Chapel and for the PWD water supply to build an overhead water tank.
Even as the Davorlim villagers are demanding the return of their ancestral comunidade land for the village development, correspondence accessed by The Goan has revealed that then district Collector, Sachin Shinde, had recommended to the government to hand over to the Education department only land admeasuring 1,05,064 sq mts after deducting from the acquired property 5,000 sq mts for the Chapel and around 5,136 sq mts for the PWD.
In fact, in his note dated March 23, 2016 addressed to the Under Secretary, Revenue, the then Collector had strongly recommended that after deducting an area admeasuring 5,136 sq mts for an overhead tank, besides an area admeasuring 5,000 sq mts for the Chapel, the balance area admeasuring 1,05,064 sq mts can be transferred in the name of the Educationdepartment.
Why Shinde's proposal did not find favour with the Revenue department for reasons best known to the government, the land in question was finally handed over to the Education department nine months later in December 2016 lock, stock and barrel by Collector Swapnil Naik.
While Collector Shinde had recommended allotment of the acquired land for the Chapel and the overhead water tank, his successor Swapnil Naik transferred the entire land admeasuring 1,15,200 sq mts to the Directorate of Education for the integrated school complex. On the same day, Education Director Gajanan P Bhat had taken possession of the land from the South Goa district Collector, completing the formalities for the transfer of the acquired land acquired for the multi-purpose utility project for setting up of the integrated school complex.
The government's decision to transfer the acquired land to the Directorate of Education assumes significance as Davorlim villagers and the local panchayat body had been insisting that the government allot the acquired land to tone up the village infrastructure such as the development of the Chapel, for waste segregation and sorting, community hall and sports complex, etc.
The government-acquired comunidade land had been the focus of attention last Sunday after Davorlim villagers at the special gram sabha unanimously resolved to oppose the proposal to shift the Margao-based schools to the village. Instead, the villagers in one voice demanded the return of the acquired land to meet the infrastructural needs of the village.
