Margao comunidade opposes Moti Dongor slum rehab

Margao: Goa govt’s renewed push to rehabilitate slum dwellers at Moti Dongor has drawn sharp criticism from the Margao Comunidade, which has termed it another “seasonal exercise” ahead of civic polls, while pointing out that the matter remains sub judice in the high court.
Documents accessed by TOI reveal that as far back as Aug 2011, just months before the March 2012 assembly elections, the then chief minister Digambar Kamat attempted to revive a proposal to acquire 23,000sqm of land at Moti Dongor for rehabilitating 325 structures. The proposal, which received in-principle approval in 2006, was estimated to cost Rs 1.1 crore but never materialised due to govt’s failure to grant administrative approval and deposit the required funds.
Now, in what the comunidade stakeholders perceive to be another pre-election manoeuvre, govt has constituted a six-member committee under the chairmanship of the director of municipal administration. The committee, which includes officials from various departments, including the deputy collector of Salcete, inspector of survey and land records, municipal engineer of Margao Municipal Council, and the senior project engineer of GSUDA as member secretary, has been tasked with determining land acquisition requirements and exploring rehabilitation options through either public-private partnerships or govt schemes.
At a meeting chaired by the revenue secretary on Feb 22, 2024, Margao MLA Kamat, for whom Moti Dongor represents a major vote bank, insisted that “the total slum area of 23,800sqm has been notified under the Slum Act and the entire area is to be demarcated irrespective of whom the area belongs”. He had further demanded that all the departments concerned work in coordination, citing the long-pending nature of the matter, and pushed for a joint site inspection to be completed by Feb 29, 2024.
The inspector of survey and land records, Margao, had informed during the meeting that of the 23,800sqm area identified for rehabilitation, 13,000sqm belongs to the comunidade while 10,800 sqm is privately owned.
Significantly, govt allocated Rs 5 crore in the 2023-24 budget for land acquisition. At the meeting, the director of municipal administration was directed to ensure adequate budgetary provisions for future land acquisition, while also exploring rehabilitation options through either public-private partnerships or govt schemes.
However, Celestin Noronha, president of Margao comunidade, has strongly opposed the move. “The issue of legality of these structures is sub judice before the high court. The demolition orders obtained by the comunidade in 2014 were stayed, and the matter is awaiting disposal for the last decade,” Noronha told TOI.
He further pointed out a legal flaw in the rehabilitation exercise in support of his objection. “The so-called Slum Improvement Act 1958 was never extended to Goa. Consequently, all notifications issued under the non-existent law are a nullity ab initio,” he said, adding that the shareholders of Aquem comunidade have “clearly” instructed him that they want their Moti Dongor land back.