Sunil Haleangady
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Jan 2: A case has been filed in Mulky police station about turning agricultural land worth lacs of rupees into a wasteland by the officials who went wrong in identifying the land required to be taken over for laying the pipeline for the strategic petroleum reserve coming up at Padoor in the district. This line passes from Thokur in Dakshina Kannada district to Padoor, where Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) proposes to create a huge oil reserve in the form of cavern for emergency use.
It is said that the officials, who committed mistake in conducting survey, meddled with agricultural land located at Balkunje Karnire near Mulky. The land in question is owned by Francis Almeida from Karnire village.
In his police complaint, Almeida said that about 100 coconut trees, water pipeline concealed under the earth, compound wall, and fertile agricultural land between 1 and 1.5 acres had been razed with the help of huge machines by officials who entered the land illegally without serving any notice on him. He has named the main intruders who made him to suffer huge loss, as Rohit, surveyor of Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, Siddarth, engineer of IL & FS, and Harish Putran contractor who executed the demolition. Francis, in his complaint, has asked the police to take legal steps against the trespassers and ensure payment of suitable compensation to him.
A number of locals have strongly condemned the attitude of the officials in going ahead with works at their whims and fancies without conducting survey of agricultural land, and without seeking the approval of the land owner or serving official notice and paying compensation for the land being acquired.
Mulky station house officer, Ramachandra Nayak, who registered the case and visited the spot, felt that the confusion had mainly arisen on account of confusion over survey number. Noting that compound wall of the neighbouring public graveyard also has been brought down, he said that in all possibility, the company may pay compensation for these losses.
Contractor, Harish Putran, who was available during spot inspection, told media persons that the confusion had arisen because of the fact that survey was conducted through satellite. He said that loss in Francis Almeida's land had occurred due to survey number confusion. He promised to prevail on the company to pay maximum possible compensation to Almeida. In the meantime, Almedia is preparing to approach the court against those who encroached upon his land and caused losses to him without taking care to get his nod beforehand, serving notice sufficiently early, or paying compensation for the land in advance.