MARGAO
The Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd managed to get the second railway track laid at the Nessai railway crossing past midnight amidst protests, but the track laying work left a host of questions unanswered and brought to the fore the moot question -- whether the Railway Act overrides the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, which empowers the local panchayat bodies in respect of construction work in their jurisdiction.
This question took the centre stage and was a subject matter of intense debate around midnight when members of the Goyant Kollso Naka protested at the Nessai railway crossing as the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd mobilized men and machinery to lay the track at the crossing.
Unarmed GKN activists led by Convenor Antonio D’Silva, co-convenor Abhijit Prabhudesai came well prepared to confront the railway officials with lethal armament in their armoury -- the Goa Panchayat Raj Act. The GKN members posed a single query to the railway officials, whether the RVNL has obtained the necessary permissions from the local panchayat body to undertake the construction work on double-tracking.
Apparently taken aback by the ticklish question, a senior railway official invoked the Railway Act to defend the construction activity.
The official was vehement in insisting that the Railways are exempted from obtaining permissions from the local bodies under the Railway Act.
When the anti-track doubling activists sought an answer on the permissions from the local body, the senior official kept harping on the Railway Act, claiming the Act gives exemptions to the Railways to carry out work in railway property without seeking permissions from the Panchayat body, but could not produce a copy of the Act nor the exemptions contained therein.
At one point during the debate, the railway official opened himself for an
attack from the protestors when he referred to the permissions issued by the district Collector, South.
The railway official claimed that the panchayats are part of the District Collector, without realizing for a moment that the Panchayats are local self-governing bodies, with powers envisaged under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment.
Abhijit Prabhudesai said, “The Goa Panchayat Raj Act empowers the panchayats to deal with all matters pertaining to construction work in its jurisdiction. How can the Railway Act grant an exemption to the railways when the Goa Panchayat Raj Act empowers the local bodies to deal with all matters pertaining to constructions.”
Goa police officials present at the work site for laying of the track at the railway crossing also had to handle questions over providing security for construction work when the party has no permission from the local bodies.
Abhijit also raised the issue of rushing with the double-tracking project when no permissions have been granted for the project passing through the Western Ghats.
“The double-tracking project is a linear project between Vasco and Hospet. The project has not obtained permission for taking up work along the Western Ghats and the land acquisition process is incomplete,” he said, while claiming the government is rushing with the project in haste to achieve the coal transportation plans of the corporates, including the Adanis and Jindals.
