Goa villagers go to court against DLF, builder says all above board

Over the last month, Vera Varghese, 65, has had brushes with a leopard and a python close to her hillside home in Goa's Alto Dabolim village. She says she has never had such experiences before in the 10 years that she has lived here, and she doesn't think it is coincidental.

Varghese and many others in the village blame the frequent leopard sightings in recent months on a massive real estate project promoted by DLF Ltd. "This project is stripping what was once dense jungle. We have been asking the wildlife warden to set up traps for leopards seen in the village over the last two months," Varghese said.

Protests by villagers have prompted local authorities to ask DLF to stop hill-cutting operations until an inspection is completed. Local people, along with the environmental action group Goa Foundation, have challenged the project before the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court.