In February 2022, the Velsao Panchayat, which administers the villages of Velsao, Pale, and Issorcim in South Goa, moved the High Court against the double-tracking of the South Western Railway line between Hospet in Karnataka and Vasco da Gama in Goa. The local body claimed that it had not been consulted before the project was approved, and the required permits had not been acquired. Six private landowners in Velsao had approached the High Court separately on similar grounds. Residents of Cansaulim-Arossim-Cuelim panchayat area were also agitating against the acquisition of land for the project, but their panchayat said it did not have the authority to take action.

Of the entire stretch that the railway line will cut through in Goa, Velsao-Pale-Issorcem is one of the most densely-populated areas, said Olencio Simoes, joint secretary of Goencho Ekvott, a civil society organisation that is leading the protests against the double-tracking project. Protests in the area picked up pace in November 2021, when villagers came out in large numbers to oppose the land survey and demarcation work being carried out by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL). According to Olencio Simoes, RVNL officials forcefully entered private land and installed barbed wire to fence off the land.

Residents said the existing railway track passing through the village has been built on land that has still not been acquired. “When the existing track was laid in 1890, this land was given by the people as a ‘gift’ to the Portuguese government. The Railway continues to use the land, but ownership belongs to the original land owners,” said Simoes. Heritage conservationist groups and activists say that double tracking will increase vibrations from the train movement and cause cracks in the homes lined along the road.

The conflict in Velsao was part of a larger state-wide agitation that had been brewing in Goa since June 2020 against the section of the proposed rail line that would cut through the Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park. The double-tracking of South Western Railways is one of the three linear projects in the state sanctioned in December 2019 and April 2020 during the first lockdown, allegedly without adequate debate and consultation. The other two projects were the laying of an additional transmission line and the widening of National Highway 4A. The railway line, which would cut across 342 km of land in the two states of Goa and Karnataka, is divided into two phases: Hospet-Tinaighat and Tinaighat-Vasco. The Castle Rock-Kulem stretch of Phase II cuts through 120 hectares of forest land, including 113 hectares of protected land, and the Kulem-Margao section of the same phase cuts through 16 ha of forest land, including 14 hectares of protected area. As many as 59,000 trees are likely to be cut for the three projects.

In early 2020, Goa’s civil society erupted in a series of marches, study groups, created protest art, and launched a massive awareness campaign. Citizen movements like Goyant Kollso Naka (‘No Coal in Goa’), Aamchem Mollem (‘Our Mollem’), and Goenche Ekvott led the agitation. They highlighted the wealth of biodiversity housed in the protected forest stretch and pointed to shortcomings in the Environmental Impact Assessment reports ([here](http://www.dstegoa.gov.in/EIA report from Kulem-Madgaon Section.pdf) and [here](http://www.dstegoa.gov.in/EIA report from Kulem to Castlerock Section.pdf)). These included problems like vague methodology, glaring omissions of certain species, undercounting of mammal species, and lax standards of monitoring.

On May 9, 2022, the Supreme Court struck down the environmental clearance granted by the National Board for Wildlife to a 26 Kilometre stretch extending from Castle rock in Karnataka to Kulem in Goa. This verdict came in light of the recommendations of the Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) constituted by the Court for examining the clearance. The apex court also noted that the capacity of the existing track is underutilised. However, work beyond the Kulem stretch – which includes Velsao, Cansaulim, and Chandor, among others continued. Villagers have pointed out that it is a waste of money to continue work on one stretch when proposed work on another section has been struck down.

In early August 2022, the High Court dismissed a separate petition filed by a group of citizens of Chandor and Girdolim who have organised themselves under the banner 'Ganv Bhavancho Ekvott'. Their petition was against the double-tracking work being carried out on their village land. Similarly, the Court dismissed the petition filed by Velsao Panchayat on October 11, 2022. In both cases, the High Court noted that the provisions of the Railways Act, 1989, would override the need for prior permissions from state legislations, such as the Panchayat Raj Act of 1994.

In May 2023, the Velsao Panchayat disputed the decision through a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court (SPL Diary no. 19439/2023), but it was withdrawn shortly after a few days.

On the ground, RVNL's work and protest by villagers have been ongoing since then. The dispute has persisted, with Velsao residents maintaining their stance that the railways have not been able to prove their ownership of the land. According to Max DeSouza, Velsao resident and active member of the movement, the railways were directed by the Collector to initiate a process of promulgation of the disputed land. Subsequently, the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records in May 2023 issued an order, declaring the ISLR of each taluka to initiate the process to create a record of rights. “The provisional records were created abruptly, without any consultation with the villagers or on-ground demarcation. One uniform survey number was provided for the entire village,” he said.

Based on this, a notification by the Inspector of Survey and Land Records (ISLR) (Record of Rights) was issued in February 2024 and published in the local newspapers in March 2024. It included land across seven villages that the railway line is expected to pass through, and invited objections from all affected parties. Based on objections filed, 46 individuals were intimated to appear before the ISLR court. The case, which started the hearing in early 2025, has seen multiple delays and adjournments. As of May 2026, 17 hearings had taken place without any resolution. Villagers believe that these are mechanisms to delay the hearing while RVNL continues to carry out the work with police protection.

Simultaneously, [a civil suit ](https://www.thegoan.net/goa-news/velsao-villagers-await-court-hearing-on-doubletracking-dispute/127357.html)filed by some residents – who claim legal ownership of the land – has been pending in the District and Sessions Court in Margao since February 2025. They have sought relief under Section 39 of the Specific Relief Act, demanding that the South Western Railway, RVNL, and contractors be permanently restrained from entering the disputed land.

Meanwhile, the state government and RVNL have made attempts to renew their bid for clearance in the stretch that cuts through Mollem. After the SC verdict, the Regional Empowered Committee (REC) had ordered that approval for the diversion of 15.6 hectares of forest land be kept in abeyance and directed the project proponents to undertake a fresh environmental assessment. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) prepared a fresh EIA, at a reported cost of Rs 4.7 crore, but it has been heavily criticised by experts and activists for failure to include key species, such as freshwater fish, [insects, and arachnids] (https://www.instagram.com/p/DUvFu6HElQK/?imgindex=1), as well as to assess social impacts. The REC, which reviewed the new EIA in March 2026, also pointed out that the report put a heavy emphasis on mitigation but did not adequately capture the ecological impacts of the project. The REC deferred the proposal and directed that the new EIA be placed before the NBWL or CEC before returning to the REC for reconsideration.