Kumta: The 32 guntas of land earmarked for a graveyard in Baad village of Kumta has been illegally sold to a resort, alleged villagers. They lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta and also demand intervention of the district administration into the matter.

According to legal experts, the land is earmarked for a graveyard and it cannot be sold unilaterally. “If the gram panchayat wants to sell the land, it has to take permission from villagers and the land should be auctioned,” noted a legal expert.

The villagers said the panchayat development officer (PDO), tahsildar and the executive officer of the taluk panchayat are directly involved in the sale of the land to the resort owner.

It affects the villagers whenever there are a death in their families, they added.

Lakshmi Patagar, president of Baad gram panchayat, said she is aware of the graveyard issue, but expressed her helplessness as the land was given to the resort many years ago. Even public had agreed to handover the land to the resort, she said.

“There is no option left, but to approach the court. If villagers go to the court, I will support them,” she added.

Jayant Naik, a villager from Baad, alleged that with the signature of only a few villagers, the graveyard was given to the resort. From gram panchayat members to tahsildar are in favour of the resort. Many resorts have come up at beaches in the last one year and many of them do not have permission, he said.

Naik said: “Whether it is right or wrong to cremate bodies on the beach is not the issue. It’s a tradition in coastal villages in the region to cremate bodies on beaches. As they are not allowed to cremate at beaches now, where will they cremate is a big question.”

‘Resort lobby powerful’

The villagers alleged that some of the resort owners have good political connections and hence, most of officials support them (resorts). The newly-allotted graveyard land is surrounded by houses and if anyone cremates a body, it will affect the residents nearby, they said.

Source: ENS