MARGAO
South Goa District Collector Egna Cleetus declined to comment on the prolonged delay by the Inspector of Survey and Land Records (ISLR) in concluding the Velsao land dispute proceedings, stating that the matter is sub judice. However, her response prompted sharp questions from aggrieved landowners.
Members of the Velsao delegation questioned how, under the same “sub judice” principle, authorities have permitted the South Western Railway and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited to continue work on the second railway track through disputed land.
They argued that when a matter is under judicial or quasi-judicial consideration, all parties are expected to maintain status quo. Drawing the Collector’s attention to this principle, the landowners asked whether the Railways considered themselves above the rule of law.
The issue arose after a delegation approached the Collector seeking her intervention to direct the ISLR to expedite the proceedings, pointing out that the matter has remained unresolved since January 2025 despite multiple hearings.
While maintaining her stance on the sub judice nature of the case, the Collector later assured the delegation that she would seek a status update from the ISLR regarding the progress of the proceedings.
