The Tiracol golf course and resort project was proposed by Leading Hotels Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Four Seasons Hotels group, in Tiracol village in Pernem taluka, North Goa. Tiracol is spread over 13.85 lakh square metres. The project proposed to purchase and develop 12.18 lakh square metres, which is nearly all of the housing and agricultural land of the village, leaving out just the Tiracol Fort, a protected heritage structure. There are 300 residents in Tiracol. Most of the village is under cashew plantation and some seasonal cultivation.
The village land is owned by one Kashinath Surendra Xete Colopo alias Kashinath Surendra Khalap. All villagers are tenants. The conflict lies in this structure of land ownership and control. The Khalap family sold the land to Leading Hotels. However, under the tenancy reforms carried out in Goa since the end of Portuguese rule in 1961, tenants have been given land titles and protection from eviction. Also, the tenanted agricultural land cannot be used for other purposes.
Leading Hotels has maintained that there are no tenants on the land it bought from the landlord. The villagers refute this. They allege that after purchasing the land from the Kashinath Khalap in November 2007, Leading Hotels fraudulently made tenants sign so-called "negative declarations" - that they are not tenants and have not cultivated the land. People don't want to vacate the land at all. Their cashew plantations are lucrative.
Project opponents organised under the St Anthony's Tenants and Mundkars Association sued Leading Hotels and the Goa Government in the Bombay High Court in December 2014, alleging fraudulent conversion of tenanted agricultural land, and obtained a stay order on the construction. The villagers also challenged the Environment Clearance, and Coastal Regulation Zone clearance accorded to the project in December 2014 (See High Court order attached).
In May 2015, when the hearings in the National Green Tribunal case were briefly stayed by the Bombay High Court on a technical argument, Leading Hotels attempted to restart project work. When the villagers went to protest at the site, they entered into scuffles with Leading Hotel workers, including security personnel. The villagers filed complaints against the company at the local police station. This event put the Tiracol conflict in the limelight, and brought public sympathy in favour of the tenants. Several protests against the golf course were held across Goa. Tiracol residents are assisted by the NGO Goa Foundation in all legal matters.
A fact-finding committee was set up by the government under bureaucrat Sandeep Jacques to establish if the land was tenanted or under cultivation. Jacques submitted the report in December 2015 suggesting it was tenanted land but is inconclusive and asked for a full-fledged judicial inquiry.
The National Green Tribunal on 29 November 2016 passed a judgement keeping the Environment Clearance of the project in abeyance and asked the state environment appraisal committee to reconsider the project. In March 2017, the High Court set aside the North Goa collectorate's decisions to strike off tenant names from land records, and directed a deputy collector to review these decisions.
In September 2017, the official upheld the original findings, following which the tenants have approached the High Court with a fresh petition to quash the deputy collector's finding. The court is now hearing the matter.
Meanwhile, the central ministry of environment granted the clearance in October 2017. In July 2019, the Bombay high court passed an order to maintain the status quo on the project until the matter is heard again. The matter is pending.
In 2021, during pendency of the challenge before the Bombay High Court, proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2017 were initiated against the promoters of the golf course project ‘Leading Hotels Pvt Ltd’ by a debtor company Citron Strategies Pvt Ltd.
Advocate Om D’Costa, who represents the petitioners in the challenge against the Golf Course project, told LCW that the project is now being represented by the Corporate Debtor Company, instead of the original promoters, Leading Hotels Pvt Ltd.
As on March 2024, the Bombay High Court order 12.7.2019 directing maintenance of status quo continues to operate.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Complaint against procedural violations
Refusal to give up land for the project
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Restoration of the tenancy status
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Private
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Project stalled
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Residential area, Agricultural land
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Yes
Source/Reference
<https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/hc-stays-tiracol-golf-course-work-till-inquiry/articleshow/57951670.cms>
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
505
Type of investment:
Investment Expected
Year of Estimation
2015
Has the Conflict Ended?
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Other
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Lack of legal protection over land rights
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Pending
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
High Court of Bombay at Goa, National Green Tribunal (NGT)
Case Number
PIL WP 26/2014 (disposed of), PIL 32/2017, NGT-Application No. 135/2015
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Assault
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Collector, North Goa
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Leading Hotels Ltd; Citron Strategies Pvt. Ltd.
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
St Anthony's Tenants and Mundkars Association
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
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