Mapusa farmers say no to govt’s Down Town Scheme

the goan I networkrMAPUSA r r“Government officials have met us on several occasions and made a lot of promises on the benefits that will accrue to us once the scheme is implemented. But all these are verbal assurances. We want the government to give us something in writing,” said Sanjay Barde, President of Bodgeshwar Shetkari Sangh. rThe Bodgeshwar Shetkari Sangh along with Goa Kul Mundkar Sangarsh Samithi recently convened a meeting with the farmers of Mapusa and resolved not to give a go-ahead to the scheme until the government clarifies its position. rSmelling a rat in the government’s Down Town Scheme, he said the scheme was nothing but a real estate scam. “Some politicians are trying to push the scheme in a hurry with the sole motive of making a fast buck on the scheme,” he alleged. rHe pooh-poohed government’s plan to come up with educational complex, Ravindra Bhavan and other key projects through the scheme. He further said such promises were just an alibi to push the scheme. r“Look at the state of affairs of Mapusa today. The poor condition of roads, congested market, haphazard parking…The government can’t provide basic necessities to people of Mapusa,” Barde lashed out. rAccording to the farmers, in the name of the Down Town Scheme the government was trying to grab lakhs of square metres of agricultural land from the farmers at a pittance. r“We will not give a no objection certificate for the scheme until the government gives us in writing about the plan and our stake in it,” Barde opined. rSantosh Mandrekar of the Goa Kul Mundkar Sangarsh Samithi said the government was trying to trap the farmers by offering them a 60-40 ratio as compensation for the land without explaining the nitty-gritty of the scheme. r“We don’t trust this government. Unless we get in writing about the scheme in totality none of the farmers will issue a NOC to the scheme,” Mandrekar said.