A long simmering standoff between the villager's of Goa's northern-most village — Tiracol and the promoters of a golf course reached the State Secretariat on Monday, with the protesters claiming that the backers of the project had violated a court order to start construction of the golf course with the help of bouncers.
Villagers alleged that the work was begun in the dead of the night, under the cover of darkness, "bouncers" and "in complete violation of an NGT order banning the felling of trees on the site" last week.
"We noticed them moving machinery at around 12 on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday after which we alerted the villagers who gathered at the site and summoned the police," Francis Rodrigues, one of the protesting villagers told reporters.
While the villagers claimed that the work was totally illegal especially since it was being done at night and with a posse of "50-60 bouncers", representatives of M/s leading Hotels has claimed that the work they are doing was totally legal and with all the permissions.
"We have all the permissions. We are about the start the work and the clearing of the path was only to facilitate access to the site where the work will actually commence," Gerson Rebelo spokesperson for leading Hotels has said.
The project also includes a multi-starred hotel promoted by the Four Seasons group, which is also being opposed by the villagers.
"The land belongs to us, we are in the bhatkars in the traditional sense, and whatever claims that are there on the land will be settled in the appropriate fora. We have every permission in place," Rebelo said.
Villagers led by the Goa Foundation had challenged the sale of land to the hotel on grounds that tenanted land cannot be sold.
On Monday, a delegation of social activists camped outside the Goa State legislative Assembly protesting against the Government's inaction against the 'goonda raj' that has descended on the State.
"The dastardly acts of M/s leading Hotels ltd. in Tiracol is not just an act of intimidation heaped by the high and mighty upon the economically backward and vulnerable sons of the Goan soil, but is as well as act of murder of the sovereignty of the Indian judicial system by virtue of blatant disregard towards the judgments passed by the National Green Tribunal," a memorandum which the protesters sought to submit the Chief Secretary said.
They were however denied entry into the Secretariat by the police and have hence chosen to protest again on Tuesday against the project.