By IANS,
Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat Thursday ruled out government jobs for members of 630 Maharashtrian families displaced during the construction of the inter-state Tillari dam two decades ago.
Speaking to reporters here, a day after the displaced villagers threatened to block the water supply from the dam to Goa, Kamat said: “Just because they are threatening, the Goa government will not give them jobs.”
He also questioned the two decade delay by the displaced villagers in demanding jobs as compensation. “Where were they all these years,” he asked.
The Rs.1,612 crore Tillari dam, located in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district, is a joint undertaking by the both state governments. Commissioned in May 2009, it is aimed at fulfilling the potable water needs of south Maharashtra and north Goa.
The construction of the dam, which was delayed considerably, resulted in displacement of 11 villages and 1,236 families comprising 5,276 people.
One of the Maharashtra villages affected by the construction of the dam was even relocated across the border in Goa’s Bicholim taluka.
Maharashtra’s Water Resources Minister Sunil Tatkare has already said that the Goa government was duty-bound to provide jobs to the displaced villagers, citing the agreement between the two governments. He said his state had already fulfilled its commitment, having provided government jobs to members of about 200 families.