Panaji, February 21 Police were allegedly seen dragging RGP MLA Viresh Borkar out of the Town and Country Planning office here along with several others on Saturday morning after they had been protesting there overnight against the conversion of a tribal area into a 'settlement zone', where construction activity is allowed.
The Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) legislator accused the police of manhandling him and submitted an application of breach of privilege against the concerned officials.
Following the police action, the legislator and other protesters continued their protest against the government from a different location, while Town and Country Planning (TCP) minister Vishwajit Rane refused to revoke the government order, calling the protesters "blackmailers".
The protesters claimed that 84,000 square metres of land in Palem-Siridao village in the St Andre Assembly constituency in North Goa was converted into a settlement zone from non-settlement areas by the TCP department by misusing provisions in section 39-A of the Act.
On Friday, the residents of that village marched to the TCP department office to hold the protest. Around 100 villagers, mostly women, spent the night there, to press for their demand for immediate revocation of the order.
On Saturday morning, a police team went to the TCP office and dragged MLA Borkar from the site along with others. The police personnel were seen lifting the legislator and bringing him out from the office.
Talking about the action, the MLA said, "This kind of behaviour is unacceptable. As a legislator, I cannot be manhandled by the police, as the assembly session has already been summoned by the Governor. No such action can be taken against me without the permission of the Speaker of the House."
The budget session of the state assembly is scheduled to start from March 6.
After their protest continued, Borkar submitted an application of breach of privilege against the police officials who manhandled him.
"I have spoken to the Speaker over the phone and he has categorically told me that he was not informed about the police action beforehand," he said.
Several other leaders, including Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Venzy Viegas, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president Sunil Kawthankar, AAP's former Goa chief Amit Palekar, extended support to Borkar and joined the protest at the Azad Maidan here.
Borkar announced that he would launch an indefinite fast to press for the demand for revocation of the land use plan.
Responding to the protest, minister Rane said that the government will not revoke the land use order.
"Let them (protesters) sleep in the office. We are not going to revoke it. They are blackmailers," the minister told reporters in Sattari taluka on Saturday.
In Goa, a settlement zone refers to a specific land classification, designating areas where construction for residential or commercial purposes is permitted.
The residents, predominantly from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, allege that their ancestral hill land is being converted into a settlement zone to benefit a "builder-politician nexus", endangering both their cultural heritage and fragile ecosystem.
Talking about the land issue, local resident Tushar Gawas said, "This land belongs to the tribals. Our sacred Mhatarechi Homti - a prehistoric rock-cut cave - is located on the very land they are trying to convert for their builder friends."
For years, hills have been systematically destroyed through deliberate fires to clear vegetation, local residents alleged.