MARGAO
Madganvcho Awaaz and youth leader Prabhav Naikon Monday questioned why the long-pending issue of a Kabrastan for the Muslimcommunity has not been resolved in 32 years and why it resurfaces in the publicdomain only during elections.
He said the Muslim community had been givenpromises during elections, only to be forgotten after the polls.
“The information provided to the GoaLegislative Assembly exposes how old this promise really is. In 1999, DigambarKamat himself, then Margao MLA, moved Resolution No. 26 in the Goa LegislativeAssembly seeking allotment of sufficient land in and around Margao for a burialground. The Resolution was passed unanimously. Records also refer to landmeasuring 99,513 sq. metres at Pajifond and Survey No. 52, PT Sheet No. 228,”said Naik.
“Promises continued, but the Kabrastan did notcome. A proposal for land at Fatorda in 2002 lapsed; another proposal in 2006for additional land adjoining the existing Pajifond Kabrastan was droppedfollowing objections; and a subsequent proposal at Davorlim also failed toproceed. In October 2009, the National Commission for Minorities wrote to DigambarKamat, who was then Chief Minister, seeking implementation of the AssemblyResolution,” he added.
Saying the government thereafter invoked theurgency clause under the Land Acquisition Act and initiated acquisition of30,191 sq. metres at Sonsodo in 2010, Naik said the acquisition was completedin 2011. “Yet, 11 years later, there was still no Kabrastan. In its judgmentdated October 12, 2022, the Bombay High Court at Goa recorded this prolongedfailure despite the acknowledged ‘dire necessity’ of a Kabrastan,” Naik pointedout.
“Even the intervention of the High Court couldnot bring the project to the ground. GSUDA was given a 12-month extension withan assurance that work would start from 27 November 2023. But on 20 February2024, the High Court again recorded that there was ‘no progress at the site’and termed it ‘most unfortunate’. After an Assembly Resolution, landacquisition under the urgency clause, intervention of the National Commissionfor Minorities and repeated High Court directions, Margao is still being givenpromises. Thirty-two years are enough. Margao needs delivery, not anotherelection-time promise,” he added.
