log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) Instagram.com/thegoanonline PG14 FRIDAY OCTOBER 11, 2024 page 6 Three reasons that are denting OLA’s post-IPO excitement REVIEW: Tata Nexon CNG: Savings with premium features IN SHORT >> Goa gets `  88 cr 6 tax devolution for festive season PANAJI: In a significant move to support the States ahead of festive season, the Union government has released tax devolution of Rs 688 crore to Goa on Thursday. This also includes one advance instalment, in addition to the regular installment due in October. In total, the Centre has released Rs 1,78,173 crore to State governments across, with Uttar Pradesh getting the maximum Rs 31,962 crore.  >> See pg 3 ISL match tickets to cost just `  0 5 PANAJI: In an effort to increase fan interest in football, Goa Football Association and FC Goa announced that ticket prices for all upcoming Indian Super League matches in Goa will start at just Rs 50. This was revealed by GFA President during the GFDC Football Summit.  >> See pg 11 Early salary for govt staff this month 14 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 114 Massive land scam rattles Cunchelim 140 FAMILIES ON BRINK OF DESPAIR DREAMS SHATTERED, CRORES LOST IN ILLEGAL LAND DEALS AGNELO PEREIRA THE GOAN I MAPUSA In the quiet village of Cunchelim in Mapusa, a scam involving comunidade land partly acquired by the government has unravelled, leaving over 140 families on the brink of despair. Duped into purchasing parcels of land, these unsuspecting buyers have spent their life savings – amounting to crores of rupees – only to now face the possibility of seeing their homes demolished. What seemed like an opportunity to build a future has turned into a nightmare, exposing deep-rooted corruption that allegedly implicates local politicians, including members of Cunchelim comunidade and the Mapusa Municipal Council. The fraud was exposed last week when officials from the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records (DSLR) visited the site to conduct a land survey and demarcation. Following the inspection, hundreds of distressed victims flocked to the Mapusa ON PAGE 3 Mapusa MLA calls for probe, blames buyers for lack of due diligence Social worker alleges elected representative involved Illegal houses on comunidade land in Kadpawada, Cunchelim in Mapusa may face demolition. Police Station, lodging complaints that they had been duped into purchasing land by individuals claiming it was legally available for development. Victims allege that certain karyakartas and supporters of a prominent local politician were involved in the fraudulent transactions. These individuals reportedly accepted payments ranging from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh for land parcels measuring between 100 and 250 square meters, promising legal possession and clearance for building houses. However, the land in question belongs to the comunidade and the sales were unauthorised. One of the victims, Priyanka, expressed her devastation, saying, "I was told the land belonged to the panchayat and I was assured everything was legal. I paid Rs 7.5 lakh for the land, only to find out now that my house might be demolished. Why didn’t the authorities intervene sooner?" Another victim, Satish, revealed that he had paid Rs 4.5 lakh for his plot and taken out a Rs 25 lakh loan to construct a house. He accused those involved of ruining his life, as his property now faces destruction. Allegations have been made against Mapusa Municipal Councillor Chandreshekar Benkar, who has been named as a beneficiary of the scam. Benkar, however, denied any involvement, stating that his role was limited to facilitating electricity connections during his previous term. "As councillor of the ward, some people approached me MAPUSA President of the Cunchelim comunidade Shivanand Davjekar alias Bappa has strongly denied any involvement of comunidade members in the illegal sale of land, following allegations that have surfaced in the comunidade land scam. Davjekar clarified that the comunidade has no connection to the land in question, as it has already been acquired by the government. He asserted that the fraud had been committed by others, and the names of comunidade members were being falsely linked to the scam. “Comunidade members are not involved in selling land or accepting money from anyone,” Davjekar Cunchelim comunidade president Davjekar said the comunidade has no connection to the land in question and the members are not involved in selling land or accepting money from anyone emphasised. This statement comes amid allegations from some of the affected individuals, who have claimed that a person named Bappa had also taken money from them during the fraudulent transactions. Davjekar refuted these claims, stating that he had, in fact, taken steps nearly a year ago to address illegal constructions in the area, including the demolition of five such houses. APPEARS BEFORE BICHOLIM INVESTIGATING OFFICER THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI: The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places across Goa on Friday. A yellow alert has also been issued for October 12 and 13. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds are very likely at isolated places over North Goa and South Goa districts, according to the forecast. on Thursday. WEATHER >> PTI TIDES MUMBAI Corporate leaders, politicians and celebrities joined hundreds of people on Thursday as they bid final adieu to one of India's most respected and internationally recognised 10:41 22:33 05:15 14:49 >Continued on P5 THE GOAN I NETWORK of hiding after HC directive IMD forecasts heavy rain, gusty winds Low: High: for electricity. I helped with that, but they paid the contractor for the service," he said. The land in question is not only part of a comunidade but also includes an area earmarked as a common burial ground under the Outline Development Plan (ODP) of Mapusa. In 2010, the Cunchelim comunidade passed a resolution to reserve 15,000 square metres of land (Survey No. 10/11 and P.T. Sheet No. 2) for a common burial ground. The plan designated 5,000 square metres each for Hindu, Christian, and Muslim cremation and burial grounds. Comunidade denies hand in land scam NATION BIDS TEARFUL TA-TA TO RATAN Finally, Velingkar comes out PANAJI: Goa government will disburse salaries and pensions for this month on October 25 on account of Diwali. Govt has announced the disbursement of pay and allowances for gazetted and non-gazetted employees, along with pensions for pensioners and freedom fighters. Max: 29.6 C Min: 25.2 C Humidity: 95% Rafael Nadal to retire after next month’s Davis Cup finals RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 THE FINAL JOURNEY: Policemen carry the coffin of former chairman of Tata Group Ratan Tata before the funeral, in Mumbai BENAULIM LOCALS JOIN NATION IN PAYING TRIBUTES TO TATA >> See pg 2 business leaders, Ratan Tata, who died aged 86. Last rites were performed at Mumbai's Worli Crematorium with full state honours in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, his cabinet colleague Piyush Goyal, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, and Congress leader and former chief minister Sushilkumar Shinde. Family and friends as well as top officials of Tata group joined the ceremony where Mumbai Police paid tribute to Tata with a gun salute. Tata, the former Tata Group >Continued on P5 PANAJI On the run since a week, exRSS Goa Chief Subhash Velingkar finally appeared before the Investigating Officer at Bicholim police station on Thursday after directions from the High Court of Bombay at Goa. Velingkar had moved the High Court on Wednesday seeking an urgent hearing into his anticipatory bail application. When the matter came up for admission on Thursday morning, the Bench of Justice Bharat Deshpande asked him to appear at 5 pm as he assured the Court to cooperate with the investigation provided he was not arrested. The accused in FIR number 100/2024 arrived at the police station shortly after 4 pm, entering through the back door and within 15-20 minutes, he had exited. A heavy police presence was in place as a large group of Velingkar’s supporters gathered outside SP North: Velingkar to be questioned when needed PANAJI: Following the directions of the High Court Subhash Velingkar, appeared before the Investigating Officer at Bicholim Police Station, North Goa. During the interrogation, Velingkar gave a written statement and it has been taken on record by the IO. North Goa Superintendent of Police Akshat Kaushal said “after necessary legal formalities, Velingkar was released. However, it may be noted that the investigation in the present matter is on-going and whenever required Velingkar shall again be called for questioning". the police station. Velingkar refused to speak to the media and instead waved to his supporters. Earlier during the hearing in the High Court, Senior Counsel for the applicant Saresh Lotlikar informed the Bench that Velingkar is ready and willing to cooperate with the Investigating Agency and his only apprehension is that once he joins the investigation, he should not be arrested. Public Prosecutor for the State S G Bhobe expressed uncertainty regarding the arrest citing the ongoing investigation. He also highlighted the need for the Investigating Agency to adhere to the provisions under Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) including sub-sections (3) to (6). Lotlikar confirmed that Velingkar would appear at the Bicholim PS for the investigation on Thursday at 5 pm. The >Continued on P5 Marigold farmers reap floral fortune in Goa Kalsa project: NBWL defers nod for forest THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI njuna may have earned the reputation of being the capital of wild parties and made it to the news for all the wrong reasons but a son of the village Gaspar Fernandes has dreams of seeing the fields there turn into a sea of gold. Fernandes is excited that his over two months of hard labour will soon (by Saturday) earn him rich dividends when he harvests the marigolds he has cultivated so they are available in time for the Dusshera festival. Fernandes told The Goan that he expects to harvest at least six quintals of the highly sought flowers during Duss- Marigold mania in Margao market A MARGAO: Ahead of the Dusshera festivities during the weekend, tons of marigold flowers have flooded the Margao market. And, the business seemed to have got a communal touch too this time round. While flower vendors from Haveri and Hubli have as usual set up shop along the footpaths, pavements and roadsides in the commercial capital, members of a Hindu organization have also descended on the ground offering marigold flowers to prospective buyers.  >> See pg 2 hera and that almost all of it is already pre-booked. Like Fernandes, there are hundreds of other farmers who have experimented with marigolds instead of paddy in their fields in Bardez, Sanguem and Quepem besides other regions, sources in the Agriculture department said. In fact, marigold cultivation, has been a rare success story in Goa's agricultural arena with a huge surge in numbers, both in terms of farmers involved as well as output, over the last couple of years. Marigolds are in high demand for Dusshera and the subsequent Diwali festival and farmers like Fernandes time their sowing so that the crop can be harvested in time for the festival. "The flower takes about 62 days to bloom and be ready for harvesting. So we have to time the cultivation accordingly," Fernandes said. According to Director of Agriculture, Sandeep Fol Desai, >Continued on P5 land, seeks more documents from K’taka THE GOAN I NETWORK BELAGAVI Deferring its decision to allow 10.68 hectares of forest land for the Kalsa-Bhandura Water Diversion Project, the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has sought additional documents from Karnataka for consideration. The matter was discussed at the 80th standing committee meeting of National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) in New Delhi on October 9. Karnataka has been pushing the central government to grant approval for the launch of the project without delay after contending that the Su- No legal impediment for NBWL: Adv BELAGAVI: Senior Counsel to Karnataka at the Supreme Court Adv Mohan Katarki has said there is no legal impediment for the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) to consider the request of Karnataka on merits for granting the clearance to Kalsa-Bhandura project even if it falls in tiger corridor. “A mere pendency of appeal by Goa is no ground to stop the enforcement of the notified allocation of 3.9 TMC made by Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal in favour of Karnataka under the Kalsa-Bhandura project. This is Karnataka’s legal stand,” Adv Katarki told The Goan. preme Court has not issued a stay on the project. The NBWL committee discussed the proposal submitted by the Karnataka government for use of 10.68 hectares of forest land from the tiger corridor in between Kali and Sahyadri Tiger Reserves for construction of diversion weir, jack well cum pump house, electrical substation, pipeline and powerline in Kanakumbi and adjoining villages for construction of Kalsa Nala Diversion Scheme in Khanapur taluks. The standing committee has directed Karnataka to submit all relevant documents of the project status and said it would take a decision soon on verifying the documents. Karnataka Additional Chief Secretary (Forest, Ecology and Environment) N Manjunath Prasad said Kalsa-Bhandura project would help supply drinking water to the people in North Karnataka region. “Since nine months, the expert committee is asking for the approval by the National >Continued on P5