Team Goemkarponn
MORMUGAO: Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar on Friday afternoon clashed with officials of the 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 local resident Anil Kankonkar.
The officials were taken aback to find a large group of residents, joined by Municipal Councillor Shraddha Amonkar and MLA Amonkar, who urged the team to withdraw before the situation spiraled into unrest. Amid rising tempers, the demolition drive was called off, and the officials left the site as crowds accused the port authority of “harassing locals without cause.”
Speaking to reporters at the scene, Amonkar charged the MPA with 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 our 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 this 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,” 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. Anil Kankonkar has already fought this matter in the lower and district courts and won, but the MPA continues to mislead the High Court. If they think they can raze even one house, let them try — the people will stand united.”
Local resident Anil Kankonkar, whose house was under threat, recounted his long legal battle with the authority.
“My house has existed for over 100 years and is recorded in my family name since Portuguese times,” he said. “In 2005, MPA tried to claim this land, but the district court ruled in my favour, declaring 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 MPA to misguide the court. This is nothing but a conspiracy between MPA, the land survey department, and other authorities.”
Kankonkar alleged that the port authority had ulterior motives.
“Out of 23,000 square metres, the MPA has already taken 11,000, and now they want the remaining Government land of around 12,000 square metres,” he said. “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.”
As officials retreated under pressure from residents, Amonkar reiterated that he would not allow any house demolitions during his tenure.
“I have witnessed demolitions in Baina and Sada in the past, but now that I am MLA, I have decided no more houses will be touched,” he said. “The people of Mormugao will stand united, and we will resist every attempt of MPA to destroy our homes.”
