United Divarkars foiled bid to transform Khazan land under Pilot Project on Mangrove restoration
The villagers of Divar and in a special way the farming community were triggered by the Notice of Site Inspection issued by the Department of Environment & Climate Change (DE&CC), Government of Goa for August 28, 2024. The parties who were served the notice included the FORREST (Forest Regeneration & amp; Environmental Sustainability Trust), a Pune based NGO, The Secretary of Village Panchayat, Navelim, Tiswadi, The Administrator of Communidades, Central Zone, Panaji, The Executive Engineer, Water Resources Department (WRD), Mangroves Society of India, Goa Chapter, The Member-Secretary, Goa Biodiversity Board, Dr. Sushant Naik, Expert Member GCZMA, Margao, Attorney of Communidade of Malar, Divar and Miss Bhargavi Kelkar and Mr. Sakhil Naik of DE&CC.
The interested villagers gathered momentum through social media at a short notice of less than 24 hours. Farmers residing across the island who has agricultural land
holdings in Divar also made their presence felt.
When questions were posed to the officials of DE&CC during the site inspection conducted recently as to why the Secretary of Navelim
Panchayat was intimated and not the Sarpanch, so also the Attorney of Malar Communidade who has no jurisdiction in Navelim, and why the land owners were kept in the dark about this project, no answers were forthcoming from DE&CC.
The DE&CC also informed the villagers that the FORREST applied to their department to take up the Pilot Project for Mangrove restoration. When further questioned whether they have accepted their proposal, a member of the FORREST replied that it is
only in the nascent stage and that nothing has been approved as yet.
The villagers further grilled the inspection party about their intent to Mangrove restoration instead of getting rid of the menace of mangroves that is threatening their fertile Khazan lands thereby depriving them of bringing their agricultural lands under cultivation. Khazan land are reclaimed lands from the river for agriculture purposes several centuries ago with specialized community skills and collective expertise.
The villagers brought to the notice of the inspection party that no land in the whole of Divar is earmarked for Mangroves as can be verified from the old Survey Plans of the respective Communidades from the island and that mangroves existed only along river banks along the outer boundary of the island which acted as enforcement for the protection of bunds from soil erosion and prevent breaches in bunds. The mangroves that we see in the fields today is the fallout of ignorance, mismanagement and negligence on the part of the concerned Government agencies.
The FORREST officials tried to hoodwink the villagers that the land proposed by them for Mangrove restoration in actuality is across the road and not the Survey Numbers as mentioned in the Notice of Site Inspection. One of the farmer retorted saying even those lands are coming under khazan.
The Hon’ble MLA, Mr. Rajesh Faldessai who rushed to the site informed the inspection party not to interfere with the Khazan lands of Divar in the future and further assured the villagers that he would seek an appointment with the Chief Minister and Revenue Minister alongwith the villagers for a lasting solution towards the restoration of the Khazan lands of Divar.
Project proposal submitted to the Department of Environment, Government of Goa has pictures of paddy fields that were dried up under the directions of Goa Bench of Bombay High Court as a part of reclamation process for paddy cultivation near Divar-Old Goa Ferry crossings. While proposed Pilot Project for Mangrove cultivation are paddy fields near Divar-Ribandar ferry point. In both the instances paddy fields that are eyed for take over of transition from Paddy fields to Mangroves with community participation. Irony of the entire FORREST project is that it has planned without people thereby making mockery of premises of local people's participation proposed in the project.
The experience of this experiment has been bitter and disappointing precisely because they haven't cared to learn ecological history of Divar Island harvesting conflict.
It is indeed great that awakening has set on the island of Divar. We hope that the torch of awakening will spread to neighboring island of Vanxim and in Malar wherein few people are determined to destroy Vanxim by allowing themselves to be used as mouthpiece for bridge to Vanxim. It's first step to uproot houses in Vanxim by corporate predators like Ozone group. May people in Malar and Vanxim be inspired by heroic defence of paddy fields from the clutches of FORREST.
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