Goa: Panchayat resumes inspection of illegal houses at Davorlim

The Davorlim village panchayat resumed the inspection of the illegal houses constructed on the tenanted paddy fields in the village, which has been in the eye of a storm after the panchayat body declined to issue Enable House Numbers (EHNs) to these houses.

Sarpanch Herculano Niasso along with panchayat members and officials descended at the housing colony on Monday morning to resume the operation aimed at inspecting the houses. The inspection comes following a complaint lodged by the legal heirs of the land owner, who complained that the houses dotting on the land are illegal in nature and have come up on the tenanted land.

The sarpanch told the media at the site that the panchayat had been able to inspect around 15 houses till date. Given the magnitude of the issue, with over 100 houses located in the housing colony, the sarpanch pointed out that that the panchayat will take up the inspection in phases. “Till date, the panchayat has inspected around 15 houses. We have decided to take up around 40 houses in phase-I. The ground reality obtained during the inspection is being verified and will be placed before the body meeting for action and decision,” he said.

To a question, Sarpanch Herculano pointed out that the house occupants have not produced their documents relating to the ownership and permission, adding that the panchayat is also waiting for the complainant to submit the relevant documents in support of their claim to the land.