PANAJI:  Acting on the direction of the Supreme Court, the district magistrate of South Goa has documented 531 religious structures existing in public places, alongside the roads and in open spaces, in five talukas located in the South Goa district.

The South Goa collector, Mr G P Naik told ‘The Navhind Times’ on Friday evening that a related report has been already presented to the home department. The documentation work for North Goa is, however, still in progress.
The report presented to the government by the South Goa collector states that in South Goa, a maximum of such structures were found in Sanguem taluka numbering 254, while minimum religious structure were located in Canacona taluka standing at five. The number of religious structures in Mormugao taluka is 124, in Salcete taluka it is 107, and in Quepem taluka this number is 41.
The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat, referring to the Supreme Court direction, had asked the district magistrates to complete the documentation work by March 20.
The South Goa DM’s report maintains that majority of the religious structures exist in public places, alongside the roads and in open spaces since the pre-Liberation era. The government, however, has no record about the number of such structures existing in its land. Some of the religious structures are also indicated in the survey plans, while the others have gone unrecorded.
Most of the religious structures start off as very small roadside constructions, and are often involved in disputes. Some of such structures have also been extended to full-fledged religious houses.
The Chief Minister has already directed the officials not to allow any new religious structures in the public places. If such cases are found in the future, the involved officials would be personally held responsible for the same, and an action initiated against them, he has warned.