Zuari land scam amount enough to pay govt’s debt: Vijai

Porvorim: Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai on Friday claimed that the Zuari land scam amounts to Rs 50,000 crore and it would have cleared govt debt. However, govt maintained its stance that there is no scam in Zuari land.

Sardesai said that revenue minister Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate has spoken extensively about the Zuari land scam, but nothing has been done by him, and now it is turning into a significant scam.

He said that the House passed an amendment to the Goa legislative diploma no. 2017. He further explained that the objective of the amendment is to ensure that the purpose for which the comunidade land was given cannot be changed.

The Fatorda MLA said that the purpose of giving land to Zuari Agro Chemicals Limited and/or Zuari Industries Limited and/or any of their subsidiaries was not to create plots. “Land was not given so that Lodha should make plots or any other should make plots. 50lakh sqm land was given to create employment through industrialisation,” Sardesai said.

Sardesai demanded that Monserrate should assure him that he will not issue any sanads for those plots. “You have brought the law in 2024 and tell me now that you are breaking the same law in love of Zuari,” Sardesai said.

In response to the question, Monserrate stated that this law does not apply to Zuari as it was prospective and not retrospective.

Sardesai argued that the “aforamento” cannot be changed. Monserrate countered that Zuari land has already been sold as they are the owners of the land.Sardesai said Monserrate was seeking advice from a former advocate general, and when the advice was not in his favour, he went to another advocate because he wanted to sell it to Zuari.

“This is the biggest scam in modern Goa history,” Sardesai said. He claimed that Goa could have been debt-free with Zuari money. “Rs 50,000 crore scam. Law was brought after it was sold to Zuari. You have brought the law after land was given to Zuari,” he said.

Monserrate insisted that there is no scam, and the law was brought to prevent such occurrences in the future. Chief minister Pramod Sawant stated that they introduced the law after the Zuari incident. “Our govt has not done Zuari scam,” Sawant said.