Senior citizen gets raw deal in Saligao

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Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre (GDRC)
Email: <mailto:goadesc-W19KVW30QFMSDc0kpPPPTw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Senior citizen gets raw deal
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Senior citizen Francis D?Souza from Saligao is a disgruntled man. 
D?Souza has been fighting to regain his property (under Survey 
No. 136/1) from the Saligao Village Panchayat, which he alleges 
has been grabbed from the Saligao Communidade by the village 
panchayat.

He further adds that the communidade has denied that the property, 
an access path (2.42 meter wide and about 100-metres long), belongs to them as 
they have no record of the same. ?So how can the property belong to the village 
panchayat?? he questioned.

He repeatedly petitioned the chief secretary last year regarding the matter. 
But till date there has been no concrete reply, he maintains, adding, ?The same 
property is also faced with water-logging problem, which the village panchayat 
is aware of.? 

D?Souza has been doing the rounds of several departments since March 
2005. His petition through the office of the Chief Secretary was addressed to 
the Deputy Collector, the Director of Panchayats, Block Development Officer in 
Panjim. ?Till today there?s no action,? he claims.

On October 13, 2005 he had sent a legal notice to the panchayat stating his 
grouse and finally a reply was given on October 28, 2005 stating that the 
property in question belonged to the communidade and that it was also aware of 
the water logging. 

In the reply, the panchayat had also stated that the Public Works Department 
was to construct a drain on the northern side of the property. On the Western 
side, which the panchayat claimed belongs to the communidade, they were to 
construct another drain to rectify the water logging. But nothing happened. 

Finally, with rains fast approaching, in March 2006, D?Souza built a drain on 
the western side, which, he claims, existed before a road was illegally 
constructed over it by the panchayat. 

The panchayat in a letter complained to the Calangute police on April 3 that 
D?Souza had caused damage to public property and a copy of the letter was sent 
to the MLA Wilfred de Souza, who asked the police to take immediate action.

The police have now filed a case against him under Section 133 of CrPC in the 
Mamlatdar?s court, Mapusa, for causing nuisance in government property, which 
in reality D?Souza maintains belongs to him.  He charged that he is being 
harassed because of political pressure. Earlier, the same police station had 
investigated the matter and said that the panchayat without land acquisition 
process were wrong in constructing the road on the property, D?Souza 
pointed out.  The matter is presently in the two Mamlatdar?s offices in Mapusa 
and before the Deputy Collector. It will come up for hearing next month. 
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HERALD 29/05/06 page 3
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