VALPOI
Only 209 land documents have been handed over to residents from among 2,481 forest right applications in Sattari taluka.
A notification regarding the Mhadei Sanctuary was issued when Goa was under President’s rule during the tenure of then Governor J F R Jacob in 1999. This caused strong resentment among villages in and around the Mhadei Sanctuary over land rights.
Recently, the State government had invited locals in the affected villages to submit land rights claims and accordingly, a total of 2,481 applications from Sattari taluka were submitted to the government, as locals demanded to exclude their settlements from the forest area.
Of these 2,481 proposals, only 209 applicants have been given land documents and the remaining cases are still pending before authorities.
Efforts are underway to expedite these pending applications under the guidance of Sattari Joint Mamlatdar Aporva Karpe.
When contacted, Karpe explained that certain formalities take time and need to be in order for the applications to be processed. “First of all, it is necessary to conduct a survey of the land indicated in the proposal with the forest department. After that, the forest department has to submit a report in this regard to the Joint Mamaletdar,” said Karpe.
“The government has awarded a contract to a private organisation to conduct the survey. There have been challenges while conducting survey and they include identifying the places where the boundaries are delineated. Due to this, there has been a delay in the completion of the survey.”
According to information, the proposals of applicants in Nagargao Panchayat area have been finalised and they have been provided with land documents. Attention will be paid to applicants in other areas.
A survey in Charvane and Surla villages (Thane Panchayat), Saleli and Bhuipal villages (Honda Panchayat) and Kumbharkhand, Koparde, Melawali, Asoda, Surunguli Shirsoda, Kankire, areas has been completed.
