Port authority accused of systematic targeting of locals
Tensions rose as MLA Sankalp Amonkar faced off with Mormugao Port Authority officials over a planned demolition.
VASCO
Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar on Friday afternoon clashed with officials of Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) at the Harbour area, after they arrived with surveyors and court representatives to execute the demolition of a house belonging to Anil Kankonkar.
The officials were taken aback to find a large group of residents, joined by Amonkar and councillor Shraddha Amonkar, who urged the team to withdraw before the situation spiralled into unrest.
Amid rising tempers, the demolition drive was called off, and officials left the site as crowds accused the port authority of “harassing locals without a cause”.
Speaking to reporters at the scene, Amonkar accused the MPA of adopting a selective approach towards demolitions.
“This house of the Kankonkar family has stood for over a century, yet it is the only one targeted in such a vast survey number,” he said. “There are churches and temples in the area, too, but only one house has been marked for demolition. This is a clear attempt to harass locals.
"In the past, MPA tried similar stunts at Bharat Lane, Bogda, and even targeted the Sarvajanik Ganesh Mandap of Murgaoncha Raja as well as the Maruti Temple at Jetty.”
Amonkar alleged that the demolitions were linked to broader harassment.
“MPA is not only issuing notices to residents but also targeting places of worship,” he said. “This proves that they are systematically working against the people of Mormugao. I had raised the matter in the Assembly, and both the Chief Minister and Revenue Minister assured me that such houses could not be demolished arbitrarily. There seems to be a grave mistake in the land survey at the government level.”
The MLA went on to openly challenge the port authority.
“We will not tolerate MPA’s dadgiri. Not a single house will be allowed to be demolished. The people will stand united,” Amonkar declared. “The Government has launched the Mhaje Ghar initiative to regularise houses on Government land, but the MPA is trying to sabotage this effort by dragging residents to court."
---
Resident alleges conspiracy to grab government land
VASCO: Anil Kankonkar, whose house was under threat, has alleged that the Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) has ulterior motives to take over government land in the Harbour area.
Recounting his long legal battle with the MPA, Kankonkar said his house has existed for over 100 years and is recorded in his family name since Portuguese times.
“In 2005, MPA tried to claim this land, but the district court ruled in my favour, declaring that it is not MPA’s property. Despite this, the MPA appealed, and while the high court ordered a resurvey, the officials submitted the same old documents of the MPA to misguide the court,” said Kankonkar.
“This is nothing but a conspiracy between MPA, the land survey department, and other authorities.”
Kankonkar alleged that of the 23,000 square metres belonging to the government, the MPA has already taken 11,000 sqm. “Now, they want the remaining government land of around 12,000 sqm. They even offered me a deal to lease my own land if I allowed them to take the rest. But I refused.”
“Since then, I have been targeted individually. This is about land grabbing, not justice. My house stands on government land that the State itself is trying to regularise under Mhaje Ghar, but the MPA wants to demolish it to further its own agenda,” he said.
