Velsao residents accuse Railways of encroachment, warn of agitation by May 4

Margao: Three years and 16 hearings into a land dispute over railway track doubling at Velsao, residents came to the court of the inspector of survey of land records on Thursday hoping for an order in their favour — only to face yet another adjournment, with the case now posted for May 4.The residents, who are respondents in the case, alleged that the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) has pressed ahead with track doubling work on private properties without acquiring the land or even establishing ownership over it.They objected to the fresh adjournment, arguing that sufficient time had already been granted to the RVNL to file its reply and produce the necessary documents, but to no avail.Earlier in the day, a delegation of Velsao residents, accompanied by Congress president Amit Patkar, GFP president Vijai Sardesai, activist Claude Alvares and others, met South Goa collector Egna Cleetus and submitted a memorandum detailing the alleged illegalities by the Railways in Velsao.Alvares accused the railways of being “a lawless force in Goa”.“The Railways does not hold conveyance deeds for any of the properties on which it wants to build the second track. That is the root cause of this problem. Until they acquire these properties, no work should be carried out,” he told reporters after the meeting.Patkar said the petition against the villagers should be immediately dismissed. “The inspectorate of settlement and land records must function to protect citizens — not to serve vested interests,” he said.Sardesai said, “Carrying out work on private land without proper acquisition is a direct assault on citizens’ rights.”