VASCO
Mormugao Dy Collector Ravishekar Nippanikar on Monday afternoon informed reporters that railway authorities were working well within their own land at Velsao and that any villager opposing the project must produce their land documents to prove their claim on railway land.
"It was given to understand from the Railway authorities that some of the villagers are agitating against the railway works which are being carried out in their own land and I went to the site and I met former panch Ashok Souza, Velsao Sarpanch Maria Gouveia and a local resident Orville Dourado. I told them that the Railways are carrying out the works in the property belonging to railways as per the survey plans and if any of them are having claim on the Railway property, they must produce the survey plan or land records of their claim on the railway land. But none of them appeared before me with their documents pertaining to their claim on Railway property, " said Nippanikar.
" I have also told them and the Railway authorities have also conveyed to them that any of their traditional access of existing will be maintained by the Railways. I have also told them that in case they find their land records, they can come to my office or the railway office and produce the document before the authorities for their claim on the railway land and none of them turned out to claim their rights on Railway land. I then instructed the Railways to continue their works," said Nippanikar.
"This is as per procudure and this land is existing prior to the survey records conducted in the land revenue code 1968 and nobody has filed objection on this land till date on the Railway property or the existing tracks. We don't have any such case where anyone has produced relevant documents like form 1 and 14 or survey records or ownership document on the railway track for several years and there is no question or any scope of anyone claiming right on the railway land . People claiming that Railways is working in private properties must appear before me or Railway authorities with relevant documents and we can stop that work and enquire into it," said Nippanikar.
