Selaulim evacuees oppose land handover to Forest Department

The evacuees have threatened to launch an agitation at Azad Maidan in Panaji if the government does not reconsider its decision and address their long-standing demands within a set timeframe. Gaonkar highlighted that even after forty years of displacement, the Selaulim evacuees are still waiting for their demands to be met.

Despite repeated assurances from successive WRD ministers and officials, the situation in the village has remained unchanged.  

Gaonkar also pointed out that 89 families are still waiting for the allocation of housing and agricultural land. The WRD’s recent decision to hand over vacant land in Wadem to the Forest Department has intensified the villagers’ dissatisfaction. The evacuees have vowed to prevent the Forest Department from accessing the land until their demands are addressed.  

In addition to the 89 families, other displaced families are still awaiting the allocation of alternative lands or fair compensation for their original plots that were submerged. Gaonkar emphasised the need for the government to grant Class I status to the evacuees’ allocated lands, as they currently hold the lands as Class II occupants, causing them significant hardship.  

Panchayat member Sahil Velip urged the government to prioritise resolving the evacuees’ issues, noting that four decades have passed without a solution. Despite WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar’s assurance last year to resolve the evacuees’ problems within a year, no concrete action has followed.  

Affected evacuees, Sadanand Gaude and Romalin D’Costa, called on the government to reconsider the WRD’s move and allocate the vacant land to the affected families instead. The evacuees have also urged opposition leaders to raise the issue in the ongoing assembly session and seek an answer from the Sawant-led BJP government.