Canacona.
In this times of many uncertainties another uncertainty which is haunting the land owners all over Goa is the sword of the Damocles
hanging over their head of their land marked to be declared as private forest.
The NGT order in 2018 to notify 46.11 square kilometres privately owned land as ‘private forest’ was in itself a huge blow to the owners of these land who feel that the day their land is identified as private forest it will be a dooms day for them.
The whole bone of contention is the privately held lands spread across five hectares or more, contiguous with or near existing protected forests and with more than 75% of the trees of forest species are to be earmarked as private forests as per order.
All of the owners of these land from all the talukas of Goa vehemently objected saying that the agency involved in identifying the private forest had done it by sitting in their office with the help of satellite imagery and
infact the plots are of horticulture crop.
The petition by the government of Goa in the supreme court appealing the NGT order was also quashed leaving no hope to the aggrieved owners except to file their objections before the forest authorities.
Almost all of the owners of this 46.11 sqkm land has filed their objections and the forest department doesn’t seem to have enough manpower to hand this mammoth work of inspection of each and every plot affected by the NGT order.
The committee constituted by the Goa government on January 21, 2020 to submit a detailed report on the review of earlier such reports prepared by different committees is yet to be submitted as most part of the year was washed out due to Covid-19 restrictions sources informed.
The affected land owners from Canacona who number more than hundred speaking with this correspondent blamed the government for not taking up their case seriously and dragging it, in turn increasing their anxiety.
They say that most of the land identified as private forest infact have cashew and other horticultural crop that do not qualify their land to be marked as forest.
“We would be happy if the government takes over our land and pay us the fair market price of our land if they can’t immediately exclude our land from being declared as private forest” said one land owner who identified himself as Sachin.
“My plot which doesn’t have any forest cover and surrounded by non agricultural plots on all sides is identified as private forest, how this is possible? I have been making trips from pillar to post to exclude my plot from being identified as private forest and till now not succeeded, lamented Jitu Desai.
Sources informed that the affected parties in some instances are so agitated that they have turned back the forest authorities who had come for inspection of their plots recently and it looks like there won’t be any relief to them in near future.
Taluka wise area identified to be marked as private forest.
Tiswadi-822.14 hectare
BICHOLIM- 70 hectare
PONDA- 247.36 hectare
SATTARI- 828.94 hectare
BARDEZ- 1177.8 hectare
PERNEM- 115.36 hectare
SOUTH GOA
CANCONA- 917.99 hectare
SALCETE- 277.41hectare
QUEPEM- 814 hectare
MORMUGAO- 75 hectare
SANGUEM- 786.47 hectare
DHARBANDORA- 580.74 hectare