from Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji (GA)

Panaji, Apr 29: Goa’s forest department has found that the wrong procedures adopted by administrative officials have forced them to lose huge tracks of land in the wildlife sanctuaries, a senior official stated.
 
The department, which has taken cognizance of this loss, has written to the state chief secretary seeking government’s intervention in stopping this huge transfer of land to private parties.
 
 The officials contend that in last two decades, the department has lost around 10 crore sq metres of land to such wrong procedures and cases are pending at various courts to get it back.
 
 The department’s letter to the chief secretary, in one of the case pertaining to the land lost to a private party at Naqueri village in South Goa, has blamed office of deputy collector, Quepem for such wrong mutation.
 
“It is apprehended that fraudulent practices are being employed through the office of deputy collector, Quepem. It is high time that the corrective action be taken immediately by respecting relevant records so that loss to the government is avoided,” the letter reads.
 
The land at Naqueri, which is the proposed reserved forest, in the survey no 22/0, 26/0 and 25/0 was wrongly mutated in the name of private parties by deputy collector Quepem. The complaint to this nature was lodged by deputy conservator of forest, South Goa, to his seniors.
 
In a similar case at Neturli village (south Goa), which falls in Netravali wildlife sanctuary, around 60 lac square metres of land was mutated in the name of six people while forest department has already filed a case in district court.
 
The department officials stated that Laxman Purso Gaonkar and five others had filed the case under section 14 of sub section 3 of the land revenue code before the south Goa deputy collector claiming ownership of the forest land. In the said case, instead of forest department, director of revenue settlement was made the party.
 
The department got to know about this case, eight years later but by that the time, the case was almost finalized. The department challenged the order in the district court. However, even before the court can decide Sanguem Mamltadar has initiated mutation proceedings.
 
 Officials stated that the department is still fighting a court battle against, Timblo Ermaos & Company Ltd, which has stake claim on around 45 sq kms of land in the Netravali wild sanctuaries. The company successfully won battle in the local court while the department has gone in appeal to the High court.
 
If this was not enough, the forest department is troubled with unique case of land acquisition that went haywire at Bhatpal in Canacona taluka (south Goa).
 
Officials stated that the forest department was supposed to acquire 40 hectare of land at one particular spot, which is a cashew plantation and owned by local communidade (a community based cooperative organization). But when actual acquisition was done, it was found that some other piece of land was acquired.