Law Minister Nilesh Cabral lighting the traditional lamp to mark the inauguration of the special court for Netravali Wild Life Sanctuary in Netravali.
SANGUEM
A special court to decide on the forest right claims filed by over 415 villagers residing in the precincts of Netravali Wild Life Sanctuary was inaugurated on Tuesday in the premises of Government High School at Netravali-Sanguem.
The special court premises was inaugurated by Law Minister Nilesh Cabral in the presence of Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar, Ajay Gaude, who has been designated to decide on the cases, forest department officials and others.
The special court has been set up to facilitate the villagers residing in remote hilly areas and Netravali village to attend the hearings without having to travel all the way to Sanguem town, a distance of 30 kms, to attend the hearings.
The hearings at the special designated court will be held twice a week in the evening session and will be conducted by the designated collector for Netravali Wild Life Sanctuary Ajay Gaude, who is also the Sanguem deputy collector.
The court will decide on the cases pertaining to private properties which come within the precincts of Netravali Wild Life Sanctuary.
“If the papers are in order, the properties owned by individuals will be left out from Netravali Wild Life Sanctuary,” claimed Law Minister Nilesh Cabral while speaking at the inaugural function.
Cabral appealed to villagers to attend the hearings without fail as it would decide on their ownership rights. Cabral even assured to provide transport facility to the villagers if they have any difficulty to attend the hearings because of transport facility.
“It will take around 4-5 months for the disposal of the claims filed by villagers and the main aim of the court proceedings will be to establish ownership rights to the properties held and owned by the villagers,” said Cabral.
Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar, who has been following the issue for a long time, thanked Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Law Minister Nilesh Cabral for giving permission to set up the court at the doorstep of the villagers.
Gaonkar also thanked the education department for providing the premises to conduct the proceedings in the school premises.
Earlier, Ajay Gaude welcomed the guests and explained the motive behind having the court proceedings in the village.
