The swiftness and level of energy demonstrated by theMormugao Municipal Council to clear encroachments on prime property taken overby the influential builder, Anand Bose in Baina has raised quite a feweyebrows.
The council’s 2010-2011 audit report points out that illegalconstruction has grown tremendously, the present figure being 3907, onmunicipal, communidade, government and private land in Mormugao.
An area of around 917 sq mts belonging to Confraria of StAndrew Church was encroached on nearly 35 year ago. Around 34 dwellingsincluding two temples “ Basveshwar and Laxmi Temple had come up in the area.
This land was sold to the influential builder, Anand ChandraBose on July 13, 2009. Within a year after Bose purchased the church property,the then chief officer, Gopal Parsekar issued show cause notices to 34structures under section 184 of Goa Municipal Act 1968. These structures werenotified as slums in the municipal record and the council had spent its ownmoney to provide them gutter and sewerage facilities in the past. But now thesame council is showing undue haste, busy issuing a final demolition orderagainst these structures. Bose had lodged a complaint before MMC against theencroachers.
Nearly 27 houses have managed to get stay from themunicipality’s Appellate Tribunal. The encroachers, who are mostly migrants,have now approached industrialist, Nana Bandekar, for help. After thedemolition of the shanties and cubicles at the Baina red light area, the priceof land along Baina shore has sky rocketed. Real estate developers are eyeingnearly 20,000 sq mts stretch of land commencing from Baina Ice Plant to ShafiMasjid. This stretch is facing the sea and has become prime property, owned bythe church, municipality and some private individuals.
“We haven’t invited anyone to sell the church property. Infact three builders had approached us and the highest bidder was given theproperty, that too after obtaining a consent and approval from Bishop’s house,”said Higino Rebello, the President of the managing committee of Confraria of StAndrew Church. “When the property was sold we had specifically told the builderthat the church was not responsible for rehabilitation, and it was thebuilder’s responsibility to evacuate the encroachers,” Rebello added.
The chief officer, hearing the petition of 34 aggrievedowners of the “illegal” dwellings has disposed of the same, claiming that theowners did not possess any ownership documents. He stated that the possessionof house tax bills, light bill or voting id card doesn’t amount toregularisation of land.
Chief Officer, Agnel Fernandes said that a notice was issuedto the encroachers nearly two years ago, much before he took charge of thecouncil. “I am just following up the process after obtaining advice from thetechnical section,” he said. When asked how many encroachers on municipal landwere issued notices in last five years, Fernandes turned to the council’ssenior employee, Shatoshker, who in turn disclosed that not a single notice wasissued in the last five years.
“I have no problem to evacuate encroachers from municipalland provided we get approval from the councilors,” an unabashed chief officerreplied coyly. The blatant favouritism towards the builder hasn’t goneunnoticed and people have questioned the council’s sudden enthusiasm to actagainst the encroachers.
“The priority of technical section and the chief officershould be to clear encroachments from municipal property, rather then givingimportance to a private builder,” said councilor, Tara Kerkar.
Refusing to speak on the issue, builder Anand Bose said:“You can write whatever you want. I have nothing to say.”
