Threatened by land sharks TNN | Feb 25, 2015, 02.00 AM ISTTimes Panchanama: Socorro-BardezIsidore Domnick Mendes The tranquil and serene village of Socorro in Bardez, is fast seeing its pristine countryside vanishing and being replaced by ugly chunks of concrete; huge apartment complexes that stick out like sore thumbs in quaint neighbourhoods. The village has a population of 10,000 who live in seven vaddos including Zosvaddo, Ambirna, Maina, Arrarim, Carrem, Vaddem, and Porvorim. The village is bordered by Ucassaim and Guirim in the north, Pomburpa and Salvador do Mundo in the east, Pilerne in the South, and Penha de Franca in the west. This village is famed for its cashew plantations, kokam, pottery and timber. The threat to Socorro comes from the real estate lobby which has caused encroachments on comunidade land, felling of trees, erection of slums in private forests and land grabbing, either by filing false cases against villagers or blatantly taking over unoccupied houses, whose residents are abroad. With the regional plan yet to be finalized, builders have been making hay, while the government departments look the other way. "In Socorro, construction is being allowed in private forests, on hill slopes and agriculture areas. No environment impact assessment and land-carrying capacity studies have been done," says Soter D'Souza, a former panchayat member, activist and resident of Maina. Angry villagers also point accusing fingers at government departments for being hand-in-glove with the land sharks. "TCP indiscriminately shows the forest or agriculture land as settlement. The collectorate permits land use conversion merely on this pretext as forwarded by TCP. Law department only plays a role by facilitating laws which are ambiguous and allots various task to various agencies to provide loopholes," says D'Souza. "Huge amounts of comunidade land also have been encroached upon by squatters with the support of politicians who have used them as political vote banks," he added. Villagers point out that local politicians are also builders with links with the real estate lobby. "Biodiversity in Porvorim has been ignored by the planners and many constructions are coming up in the area. The open spaces are being utilized by the buildings and there is hardly any open space available. Projects are coming up on hill slopes. They are sinking bore wells. Some are constructing illegal wells which will affect the water table and the locals have to face the brunt of it," D'Souza added. Says Eurico Mascarenhas of Alto Porvorim, "Politicians are completely hand-in-glove with the real estate lobby. Mushrooming of projects can be seen in many parts of the village." A year ago, Socorro was in the news when a property in Porvorim bequeathed by late Jose Avito Pinto do Rosario, uncle to the former captain of India's woman hockey team, Otilia Mascarenhas, was grabbed by land sharks. As witnessed in many parts of Goa, grabbing of property takes place when owners are overseas. In the case of Mascarenhas, an Arjuna awardee and sports surgeon practicing abroad, her property was grabbed using fake documents. While villagers say the Porvorim plateau is almost finished, the latest proposal for 500 flats is another blow to the village's ecology. "Look at the encroachments on the NH 17. The 40m setback rule has been thrown into the bin. The land is full of illegal constructions from Guirim to the assembly complex. The government must demolish all these illegal structures," says Mascarenhas. "How can the proposed highway be broadened with the rampant illegal constructions coming up along it? This gives the government a perfect excuse to divert the highway, bring it into the village and encroach into the fields," added Mascarenhas, a former football player at Dempo SC and MRF. "The aesthetics of Socorro is being sacrificed with the construction of high-rise buildings in Porvorim and other areas in the village," says Michael Rodrigues of Alto Porvorim. Rodrigues further adds that real estate projects have put tremendous pressure on local infrastructure. "If real estate projects do not stop, very soon, Socorro will face a dire situation in terms of drinking water, electricity and garbage management.""Development is mandatory. We are not against development. But it shouldn't be done at the cost of degrading the environment. Illegal constructions should be kept in check," says Aditya Barve, a doctor. Locals also say that springs in the village which flow through the hills, are being affected due to big complexes being constructed in their path. "The stream of water that was coming down from the hills is being blocked due to construction. The authorities ignored the voices of the villagers, and the building complex came up at Ambirna. The builder also built a well without permission," says Linda D'Souza. "Projects of 4-5 storey buildings should not be allowed in villages. They change the very character of any village," she added. Says noted brand consultant Cajetan Vaz, who is also a Socorro resident. "Buying a flat in a complex opened my eyes to the load that people like me were putting onto a village that was self-sufficient before the real estate onslaught. I was putting pressure on the water supply, adding to the traffic congestion, reducing the green cover, polluting the ground water and contributing to the septic tank. The main drawback is the absence of a proper sewage system, causing new constructions to depend on soak pits and septic tanks which are ticking health time bombs. I hope this will change for the better," says Vaz. Sarpanch Sonia Pednekar blames the previous panchayat bodies for granting permissions to real estate projects. "The panchayat members elected in the 2012 elections have not encouraged or given permission to any real estate projects. The panchayat is totally against real estate projects and it will never allow big projects like 500 flats to come up the village," she said. When contacted, Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte said that the encroachments on the highway and on comunidade land has to be blamed on the previous Congress and current BJP governments. "With regard to encroachment on comunidade land or on the national highway, vacant plots allotted to people should be scrutinized and taken back if a violation is found. As for owners who have already built houses on comunidade land, their structures should not be demolished as they have been living there for a long time. But, the corrupt officials or politicians who were involved in facilitating the illegitimate transfer of land should be punished," he said. Top View The panchayat is totally against real estate projects and it will never allow big projects like 500 flats to come up the village Sonia Pednekar, sarpanch Corrupt officials and politicians must be punished for illegal encroachments on comunidade land and the NH 17 Rohan Khaunte, MLA People's take Construction is being allowed in private forests, on hill slopes and agriculture areas Soter D'Souza, resident Politicians are completely hand-in-glove with the real estate lobby Eurico Mascarenhas, resident The aesthetics of Socorro is being sacrificed with the construction of high-rise buildings in Porvorim and other areas in the village Michael Rodrigues, resident Problem No Streetlights A few years ago, the Infotech Corporation of Goa Ltd (ITG) installed fancy streetlights along the roads of Socorro to lead to the proposed IT Park. The villagers won a court battle preventing the IT Park being constructed in private forest land. But, the street lights have also stopped working. The ward of Maina is particularly affected. MLA Rohan Khaunte recently expressed his helplessness to the residents saying that it was tough to fix the streetlights erected by ITG. But, villagers told TOI that the electricity department could install normal tubelights on the same poles instead of leaving the roads in darkness. Footpaths, Stray Dogs Pedestrians find it difficult not only to cross NH 17, but, even internal roads due to speeding vehicles. "It is sad that no one has concern for safety of person on foot," says Soter D'Souza. "The stray dog menace is also quite severe in vaddos closer to the highway like Alto Porvorim, Arrarim etc," says Eurico Mascarenhas. Migrant Influx Villagers are getting increasingly insecure with the ever-increasing number of migrants. "Socorro has become a hotspot for migrants. A local is not even aware when a migrant has arrived and when he has left. It has also led to a sense of insecurity among locals due to cases of theft and robbery committed by outsiders," says Michael Rodrigues. Trivia Socorro has been home to famous sons and daughters of Goa. They include airforce pilot, wing commander Clarence Joseph D'Lima, who on November 4, 1977, captained 'Pushpak Rath', the plane carrying then Prime Minister Moraji Desai. D'Lima crash-landed the plane in Assam, but, died in the process with Desai escaping unhurt. Others, who hail from Socorro, include late Dr Antonio Pinto do Rosario, mayor of the Camara Municipal de Bardez; supercop Julio Ribeiro, the IPS officer who served as commissioner of Mumbai, director general of Gujarat police, and was chief of Punjab police when the state was in turmoil during the Khalistan movement. Noted architect Edgar Ribeiro; Edward de Lima, educationist and writer; Dr Victor Rangel Ribeiro, literary stalwart; Dr Leonora Rangel Ribeiro, co-founder of ACDIL High School, Porvorim, and late Fr Vasco Luis de Souza, the original 'builder priest' in Goa who went around building schools and other infrastructure in parishes where he was posted. (With inputs from Flexcia D'Souza and Lorraine Paiva)
