22/01/2016 ….. While the state government talks about taking decision in the interest of the state, the officials of the state forest department have been found to be taking illegal steps while trying to identify forest areas in carambolim village in tiswadditaluka trespassing in locals property without serving notices of inspection to the concerned owners
the state forest minister rajendraarlekar had recently informed the legislative assembly that the state government was in the process of formulating Private Forest Policy even though there had been a demand from the state legislators to the government not to increase the private forest cover as land is scarce in the coastal state. 33 per cent, one-third of goa’sland is under forest cover.
But on Wednesday, four to five officials of the state forest department made a visit in carambolim village for inspecting land to identify private forest areas without serving notices of inspection to the owners concerned of survey numbers 292, 290, 294, 298, 288, 287, 286, 285, 284, 283, 282, 281 & 280.
Though accepting that no notices were issued to the property owners concerned, forest officer shyam sundar gawas said that he was appointed to see as whether the marked land could be identified as private forest or not.
Even though the carambolim village panchayat was intimated, the panchayat officials had in reply apprised the range forest officers of the gram sabharesolution objecting to the notifying of private forest in survey no 280/1 part and 288/1 as the same had already been decided to be taken up for industrial estate purpose.
Meanwhile, one of the owner joao agnel nunes barros,whose property had been marked for private forest, was shocked to see forest officials in his property and sought to know as to why he was not informed about their visit .
