Goemkarponn desk
Margao: The Shadow council for Margao pointed out that the differences within the Muslim community put up by some politicians is the main cause for the unresolved issue of Kabrastan. A huge chunk of land here was encroached upon by some influential person, which continues to remain uncleared by the competent authorities, points out Countinho.
In a press statement issued by the Savio Coutinho of Shadow council for Margao stated that “It is truly an irony that on the one hand, settlement’s and commercial establishments are legally permissible around existing Cremation places, but on the other hand, Cremation places fail to overcome resistance due to existence of the settlement and commercial development and have to hunt for secluded land”, said Shadow Council for Convener Savio Coutinho while speaking on the unsettled Kabarastan issue.
Coutinho said that “It will be interesting to note that the Kabarastan saga revolves around over an interval of every 10 years’. First in the year 1999, then in 2009 and the latest being in the year 2019″.
It is indeed very sad to notice how the Kabrastan issue gets shunted from one location to another, and all this shunting commenced with the successful attempts of those in power, who shelved the proposal for a Kabarastan atop a hill in Aquem”, Coutinho revealed.
It may be recalled that Around 99,000 sq mts of Communidade land was proposed to be used for all 3 communities, and this was resolved in the Goa Legislative Assembly in the year 1999. “However subsequently, when it was realized that a huge chunk of it was encroached upon by some influential person, the Goa Assembly Resolution was preferred to be confined to the files, instead of clearing the encroachment”, Coutinho claimed.
Coutinho further added that later In 2009, the Sonsodo land was identified, but even after 10 year’s nothing happened here, but instead, another land at Khareband came into the picture in 2019. “The facts behind the Khareband land is that this was a low lying communidade field, part of it is within Margao jurisdiction, and part of it is in Navelim village Panchayat jurisdiction”.
He further alleged that in 2016-17 some MMC councillors took possession of that land from the tenants for a nominal amount and went around developing the same into 100 sqm plots to be sold to migrants. The Shadow Council for Margao filed complaints against this illegal development and stopped the same.
In indeed a very brilliant move, these Councilors and some other partners prevailed upon the powers that be, to acquire this land for the Kabarastan, and having full knowledge of the new laws of fair compensation, thought of hitting the jackpot, Coutinho stated.
Coutinho said that in their tearing hurry, the partners to this scam, the Margao Municipal Council, ignored that they did not have the power to cross the city boundary. Hence again, this Khareband proposal is caught up in a tangle, mainly because the intentions were not sincere.
He said this is the sad and primary reason this issue is not getting resolved is that the Muslim community has always remained divided, with small leaders within the community pitched against each other by the politicians. “That all the leaders from this community realize this fact and unite together for their common cause is our only hope, ” Savio Coutinho concluded.
