Beleaguered residents of Vontean-Fatorpa demand a SIT probe into what they claimed as a mega land fra Captured by : Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
Residents of Vontean in Fatorpa village have on Sunday claimed of a massive land grab, saying attempts have been made to dispossess the villagers of the land of their ancestors admeasuring over 22 lakh square metres.
The beleaguered residents, mostly comprising of the Faldesais, have made a humble plea to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to immediately set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a thorough probe into the land grab and bring the culprit to book.
They have suspected the role of officials in the land grab for acting in collusion with the fraudsters in dispossessing them of their land.
Shailendra Faldesai told the media that the land fraud was committed in 2020 by taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Unscrupulous elements with the help of a Power of Attorney have included around 30-35 survey numbers in an inventory with the sole objective of disposing of the property”, he said. He and other residents have demanded to know how their properties have been shown in the inventory, requesting the Chief Minister to order a SIT probe into the scam.
He added: "Of the total 22.5 lakh square metres, the miscreants have to sell my property admeasuring two lakh square metres. The properties in question play host to cashew plantations. We have been enjoying the fruits over the years. We have no idea how our properties have been included in the inventory”.
Gurudas Faldesai told the media that the fraud came to light when an attempt was made by some persons to execute a sale deed before the Sub Registrar when he filed his objections.
“When we obtained the copy of the inventory, we were shocked the find that there are many survey numbers which have been included in the inventory. I can say that at least 75 per cent of the properties from the village are included in the inventory when people are occupying their properties”, he said.
Panch member Mahesh Faldesai wondered who can execute the sale deeds of the property in question when the villagers are occupying the properties. “We want the government to order a detailed probe into the fraud”, he demanded.
