SURAJ NANDREKAR/
Goemkarponn desk
MOPA: Even as several farmers are still fighting for their compensation for the land acquisition of Mopa airport, the State government has mooted another draconian plan of acquiring huge tracts of land (5.25 lakh sq metres) for the Expressway connecting the NH17 to the Airport.
The Central government, in November 2020, granted National Highway (NH) status to the project.
While the State is upbeat about saving the costs of the Expressway, hundreds of farmers are left wondering about their future due to another land acquisition.
Team Goemkarponn travels to Casarvanem and Tulaskarwadi and the places where the farmers are protesting to look into the grievances of the cashew cultivators.
Hundreds of farmers are sitting under the scorching sun demanding justice. They witness their cultivation being destroyed by the machinery.
Shankar Mayenkar, a farmer, sits at the top of the Tulaskarwadi on the borders of Mopa airport and keeps staring at the devastation carried out by the government for the new Greenfield Mopa airport.
Villagers say, Shankar, a cashew cultivator, has lost around 30,000 square metres of land for the Mopa airport. He has lost his livelihood and is yet to get any compensation.
This is not the story of just one farmer; several other villagers have many tales to tell, which the authorities have failed to understand.
Even as the government has yet to settle the airport land dispute viz-a-viz compensation, it has come up with another plan to acquire land for the Expressway.
The villagers’ irony is that several farmers had lost their land for the Airport will also have to part with another chunk of land for the Expressway.
Sandip Kambli, president of Mopa Vimantal Pidit Shetkari Samiti President, who himself has lost thousands of square meters of land, says the government has manipulated all rules to acquire land for the Airport.
“Land is acquired, but to date, 60 to 65 per cent of the people/farmers have not accepted the compensation. Since the year 2007, we have been fighting this battle, and several petitions have been filed. We even approached the National Green Tribunal, and later when the final order was supposed to be given, the judge was transferred,” he said.
Kambli informed that the Samiti will file contempt of court against the government for not fulfilling the conditions laid by the Supreme Court.
“There are more than 100 conditions laid by the Supreme Court, which have not been followed. This also includes air pollution, noise pollution, effect on sources of natural water and more,” he added.
Kambli also said that there are three roads that the government has planned, including the present existing road and another for which the land has already been acquired.
He further added that the earlier road that was acquired from AYUSH hospital and Sports City land has now been dumped as several politicians have land holdings there.
“The land for that road had already been acquired. So why the new alignment now?” asked Kambli.
He added that the government wants to simply save the land of the high and mighty while the poor farmers are losing their livelihood.
The villagers of Tulaskarwadi had recently staged a one-day hunger protest demanding the government return the excess land acquired for the project and object to the additional land acquisition for the National Highway.
The villagers are now getting support from various Samitis in Goa, including Pernem Kul Mundkar Samiti, Mopa Vimantal Pidit Xetkari Samiti and others.
These Samitis came forward along with Bodgeshwar Xetkari Samiti to support the farmers from Tulaskarwadi. They threatened to agitate at a national level if the government fails to fulfil the farmers, who have been affected by the upcoming international Mopa Airport project.
President of Shri Bodgeshwar Xetkari Samiti Sanjay Barde stated that they will file a police complaint against the land acquisition officer for acquiring land by giving false assurance of providing jobs and thereby fooling the people.
These people were promised that they would be provided with jobs in the letter the land acquisition officers gave to them. These letters were issued in 2004. However, nobody has been given any job until date,” he added.
He also pointed out that now some people are being given security jobs, but they don’t want that. We want government jobs for these people,” Barde remarked.
Besides the proposed nationwide agitation, he added that a huge morcha will be held at the Goa Legislative Assembly, where more than 3000 people from across Goa will participate.
Speaking about their other contentions, Barde said the MDR leading to the Airport has been declared as NH66 and that the NGPDA is now trying to commercialise the area around under ODP. “Excess land will not be given to the government since this land and forests belong to the people”, Barde added.
“For the last three years, these people are unable to cultivate their forests, which is their source of livelihood, and the government will have to compensate for the same”, Barde added.
Goa Kul Mundkar Sanghrsh Samiti alleged that the government has illegally acquired the land for Mopa airport, and they will not allow the government to complete the project as it is a matter of saving the livelihood of the common people as well as protecting the environment.
Land acquired by PWD: DCA
Director of Civil Aviation Suresh Shanbhogue said that
the land acquisition for the Mopa Link Road has been made by the PWD.
He told Goemkarponn, “we are told land has been acquired after paying compensation.”
Meanwhile, even after the Warkhand Nagzar village panchayat issued a show cause-cum-stop work order notice on Thursday, the contractor continued the work of Mopa link road with police protection under the direction of Land Acquisition Officer (LAO) Chandrakant Shetkar and Pernem Deputy Collector Rajesh Ajgaonkar on Friday.
During the first half of the day, hundreds of police personnel were deployed.
When farmers asked the authorities to stop the work based on the panchayat notice, Shetkar said it was irrelevant.
Farmers also alleged that Shetkar threatened to get them arrested if they tried to stop the ongoing work.