PANAJI
Nearly one-fifth of Goa's notified bunds, crucial to fertility and agrarian sustainability of khazan lands, are damaged and require major or minor repairs besides other interventions. Some of these are managed by non-functional farmer/tenants associations, Revenue Minister Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate has told the Goa legislative assembly.
In Bardez taluka, as many as 15 of the 40 notified bunds are damaged and many of these are managed by non-functional tenants associations. In some cases, these damaged bunds require minor repairs which are in progress, he said.
Monserrate provided this information related to the state of the bunds crucial to the age-old Khazan land system, in reply to an unstarred query posed by Aldona MLA, Carlos Alvares Ferreira. Two bunds in the latter's Aldona constituency -- Asnoi Khazan Tenant Association, Aldona and Zuva Khazan Tenant Association, Aldona -- need major repairs each estimated to cost over 2.4 crore, the minister said.
A major portion of a third bund in Aldona -- Podwal Khazan Tenant Association, Aldona -- also needs to be strengthened and this work estimated to cost over Rs 12 crore will start soon, Monserrate added.
Similarly in Tiswadi, again 12 of the 41 notified bunds are in damaged or non-functional condition. Several tenants associations managing or supposed to manage these bunds are also non-functional, the minister said in his written reply.
In Bicholim, 21 of the 27 notified bunds are damaged while in Pernem taluka there are no complaints of damage or need for repairs for any of its 15 notified bunds.
In Salcete, two of its 27 notified bunds -- Daclem Ordh Bund and Socolfond Bund -- are damaged and need repairs. In Ponda, all five bunds -- two each in Marcaim and Kundaim, and one in Shiroda -- are damaged.
Canacona has nine of its 14 bunds damaged and one of the four Mormugao bunds require repairs, Monserrate said.
