Congress MP Shantaram Naik seeks white paper on land under defence forces in Goa

PANAJI: Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik today demanded that the Centre should issue a white paper on land occupied by defence forces in Goa, including the islands which are inaccessible to civilians.

"Union defence ministry should issue a white paper on the land occupied by army and navy in the state, including the islands," Naik told reporters at Congress House.

The MP said that the Centre should give a clear picture as regards land occupied by defence forces in the state.

Targeting Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for Panaji not getting selected in the first phase of the Centre's Smart City project, he alleged that "since Parrikar is not in the state (politics), he had no intention to get Panaji listed for the scheme".

He further claimed that some BJP MLAs, too, did not want Panaji to get picked for the Smart City project due to rivalry among party members.

Panaji was eligible for selection in the first phase, but could not make it "because of non-finalisation of Regional Plan (a land use plan)", Naik charged.

Referring to the plan for the nationalisation of state inland waterways, he said that such a move by the Centre would pose problems for the locals.

"Both sides of the waterways would be controlled by the Centre and locals who are living around these water bodies will have to suffer," the MP averred.