By Rajan Narayan

OVER 10,000 tribals comprising Kunbi, Gaudi and Velip communities are likely to be displaced from Aivao village in Dona Paula. This follows the notice given by owners of the property Agarwal Minerals Goa LTD with offices at station road Margao to develop the 11,000 sq mtr of the property known as Aviao situated at Caranzalem in Panaji city of Tiswadi Taluka. The land sought to be develop comes under Chalta No 1 of PT sheet No 184. The area sought to be develop is bound to be the road leading from the Dona Paula junction leading to the Raj Bhavan and covers most of Aviao village.
The public notice dated August 17, 2024 has been issued by advocate Shivan S Desai on behalf of Agarwal Mineral Goa Pvt Ltd. The Agarwals of Margao have been involved in large-scale mining of bauxite for several decades. The family also owns the G Mall in Margao. The public notice issued in the Navhind Times calls for individual and organization having interest in property to lodge the complaint with the advocate with the copies of the documentary proof. The majority of the residence of Aviao village are literate or semi-literate or may have the documents to prove that they are tenant and mundkar of the Agarwals. It is likely that they will lose their claim to the mud houses that they have been living in for generations.
According to eminent architect and the chairman of the Goa Foundation Dean D’Cruz, the property as per the outline development plan is in the A2 zone (natural reserve and orchard). The property of 11,000 sq meters sought to be developed also falls under the coastal regulation non-construction zone. The property is adjacent to the Caranzalem beach. In any case the general principle is that properties on the seawards side of Dona Paula bypass road cannot be developed. The property is on a prime location next to the National Institute of Water Sports in Dona Paula. It is rumoured that the property has been sold to a Delhi builder for super luxury projects. Under the ODP the property is purposed to be converted into a settlement zone. The conversion has been reportedly initiated by the Town and Country Planning minister Vishwajit Rane. This is among the many natural reserves/orchard property that have been given green signal to be converted by the Town and Country Planning Department. We understand that the deal has been brokered by two local leaders of Aviao advocates Guru Shirodkar and Narayan Naik.
Aviao village is a historical settlement of the tribal community in Dona Paula. The village is made up mostly of a collection of mud huts belonging to the poorer section of the tribal community. The Catholic convert are more prosperous than the Hindu tribals. The settlement extends from the right side of the Miramar-Dona Paula road from the Lokpriya Bar right up to the beach where there is a fishing village. There are also constructions on the slope coming down from the ride side of the road leading to the Raj Bhavan.
Indeed, the Catholic Gaudi and Kunbi people had an urgent meeting on August 25, 2024 to challenge the permission given by the TCP to permit a luxury housing complex within the regulatory zone of the coastal regulation zone rules. At present there’s the exception of a few villas belonging to local lawyer and self-styled leader Guru Shirodkar and a local bhatkar Narayan Naik.

Among the abandoned structures is a huge villa reportedly belonging to the smuggler Shuknarayan Bhakia. The construction of the Bhakia bungalow was stopped as it was in violation of CRZ rules. The entire Aviao village comes under the CRZ protected area where no construction is permissible. This is because the entire village is within 200 meters of the high-tide line. Aviao has survived as it is on the seaward side of the Dona Paula bypass road. So far there have been very constructions on the seaward side of the Dona Paula bypass road.
Perhaps the only exception we can think of is the four-storied Swimsea resort where the Persian restaurant Schandis is located. There is also a small Muslim settlement near this resort. The National Institute of Water Sport is located close to the Aviao village and has not put up any concrete structure. Indeed, there are no buildings or major housing complexes on the seaward side of the Dona Paula Miramar bypass.
The Aviao settlement has been in existence for more than two decades. Indeed, when I came to Goa in the early 80s there was no Dona Paula bypass road. Following the development of the Dona Paula bypass road, there was a construction boom on the left side of the road when you are travelling from Miramar to Dona Paula.
Then came the building boom which included the 10-storied Taj Vivanta hotel on the bypass road. There was a Sea Pebbles shack which was demolished. The owner of the property was given alternative accommodation on the other side of the road. There is no precedent for approving a giant housing complex on the seaward side of the Dona Paula bypass road. The proposed super-luxury mega-housing project is expected to displace all the tribals in Aviao village.
The majority of the tribals or at least the women work as maidservants in the homes of the bold and the beautiful and the rich and the powerful living at LaMarvel colony in Dona Paula. The La-Marvel colony is located close to the Raj Bhavan and consists only of villas with no high-rise structure permitted.
So far it has been only a large luxury housing complex on the seaward side. The industrialist Audhoot Timblo has a huge bungalow literally on the rocks next to the Dona Paula hillocks next to the Raj Bhavan estate.
Historically the Aviao village land belonged to the Agarwal family from Margao. The family has been primarily involved in mining though some of the sons have diversified and set up a supermarket in Margao. We now learn that the entire Aviao village which is fully build up and occupied by the tribal homes has been sold off to a Delhi builder by the Agarwal family.
Guru Shirodkar and Narayan Naik have been collecting rent from the tribal mundkars/tenants of Agarwal. However, no construction came up as permission was not given under the CRZ rule. It may be recalled that Vishwajit Rane has been permitting the large scale conversion of areas under prohibited zones of the CRZ. Among the major beneficiaries of the bending and breaking of the CRZ zone was mining baron and hotelier Audhoot Timblo, who has built a brand new hotel right on the cliffs overlooking the sea at Dona Paula. This houses the new property of the Taj group of hotels where the new convention hall is located.
The Dona Paula-Bambolim road has over two decades seen the wholesale diversion or subversion of the CRZ rules. This began with the super luxury Aldeia-de-Goa real estate of which the Bambolim Grand Hyatt is a part off in the hilly vicinity.
The biggest housing real estate on the seaward side here is Ocean Park developed by Joe Mathai which has over 1,000 flats selling at Rs1crore plus, plus. But the newest deluxe housing estate is being promoted at between Rs5-Rs10 crore. DLF is a Gurgaon-based real estate company specializing in a super luxury housing complex at Ribandar where the prices of the villas vary between Rs35crore to Rs80 crore.
The proposed Aviao super luxury complex is expected to comprise of villas costing between Rs20 to Rs50 crores as they are of super deluxe quality class. They will be as expensive as real estate properties in Assagoa which is the most expensive destination in Goa. Regrettably, Goans with the help of Vishwajit Rane are selling all the crown jewels of Goa to builders from Delhi like Lodha and DLF.
In this particular case the biggest worry is that the tribal villagers of Aviao may not get any compensation or alternative land to build new homes for themselves. They may not in fact be able to continue to live in Dona Paula but be shifted to some remote corner of Goa. This will be a real tragedy for they will then lose their small sources of livelihood. We only hope that all tribal associations of Goa fight for the rights of the residents of Aviao.
Aviao is the latest of the tribal villages in Dona Paula targeted by the land sharks. The Odxel village has been taken over by the late Peter Vaz for a massive housing project. The tribals who were living on the beach side at Odxel have been re-located. Don Bosco has been compensated. Indeed the Dona Bosco headquarters is in Odxel. Similarly a number of tribals who were displaced when Ocean Park was develop by Joe Mathai. Originally the site of Ocean Park was occupied by the police for a public housing project. Large areas of Bambolim have been developed by Landscape builder. We understand that a new five-star project is coming up just behind the Dona Paula resident of Vishwajit Rane at Ocean Park.