Goa lawmaker to continue hunger strike against land conversion despite CM’s offer

Chief minister Pramod Sawant said that the government had readied and signed a letter saying that all land conversion orders would be kept in abeyance

Goa lawmaker Viresh Borkar has vowed to continue his hunger strike against the conversion of nearly 100,000 square metres of land on Panjim’s outskirts from “green” to “settlement”, even as chief minister Pramod Sawant offered to keep the orders for it in abeyance. He said the assurance does not address their demands to revoke the land conversion orders in his San Andre constituency.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant said that lawmaker Viresh Borkar’s health is most important for him. (X)

Borkar insisted they want to end the strike with a proper result. “They could have issued a notification or circular, but nothing has been issued yet. The demand is for the revocation of the land conversion in San Andre and the scrapping of section 39A across Goa,” he said, referring to the provision in the Town and Country Planning Act that allows the change in the status of individual plots.

Borkar, whose hunger strike entered its sixth day, and residents of Siridao Palem village have been protesting against multiple orders notifying changes to the status of ecologically sensitive lands, including orchards, private forests, and non-developable slopes (with an incline gradient beyond 25%).

Sawant told journalists past midnight on Tuesday that the government had readied and signed a letter saying that all land conversion orders in San André would be kept in abeyance as a first step. Sawant added that the letter would be issued only if Borkar calls off his strike.

“When I met and discussed with Viresh Borkar, he demanded that the projects in his constituency that have received provisional and final approvals should be reconsidered and revoked. I had assured him that anything granted provisional clearance can be revoked and stopped after speaking to the department, and if anything has been given final clearance, it can be kept in abeyance,” Sawant said.

He added that Borkar’s health is most important for him. “Issues can be resolved through discussion or correspondence. Withdraw your strike, and tomorrow you can take up the issue with the department.”

Opposition parties have supported Borkar, who heads the Revolutionary Goans Party, and demanded the revocation of Section 39A. People have taken to the streets in Arambol, Mandrem, Sancoale, Betqui, and Candola demanding the end of land conversions in their villages under Section 39A.

On Monday, protesters marched to the residence of town and country planning minister Vishwajit Rane. Rane refused to comment after a meeting with Sawant on the issue.