Brace up to counter bid to tweak Code and provide 'protection' to illegal houses
After weathering a number of past assaults administratively and through legislation, members (components) of several Comunidades from across the State are now bracing up to counter the State government's latest move to tweak the Code and provide a blanket of protection to the illegal houses built on their lands.
Representatives of several Comunidades The Goan spoke to voiced antagonistic opinions to the move of the Pramod Sawant-led government, ostensibly to "protect" houses built on Comunidade land.
AAP's Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas, who who heads the Carambolim Comunidade as president, launched a scathing attack on the decision which Sawant claims is to protect houses of 'niz Goenkars' and not the migrant ghettos and slums, saying it will spell doom for Goa.
"The Chief Minister is unaware of the impact of what he is going to do. Our children and grandchildren will bear the brunt," Viegas said.
"It is the Comunidades and the Gaunkary system that has preserved Goa through the ages. The government will be damaging this fabric of Goa with this move to legalise past illegalities," Viegas added.
"It is like removing a thread from the cloth (protecting illegal houses on Comunidade lands). The entire cloth will get undone and with it Goa because the Comunidade system is what has kept Goa and it's natural beauty intact, both in terms of geographical features as well as social and cultural constructs," he said.
Hector Fernandes of the Comunidade Fraternal de Aldona said the noise and ruckus raised over regularisation of encroachments and illegal structures on Comunidade lands, including in political circles stem from lack of knowledge about Comunidades.
"Very first Article of the Code says Comunidade or gauncaria, which is its local name, is an indigenous institution constituted of indigenous people who founded these Gauncary villages way back over 2,000 years ago," Fernandes said.
He said the Official Constitution came about in the eight century AD and it is not a Portuguese creation.
"When Portuguese language became official language, Gauncary/Gaumponn came to be designated as Comunidade leaving the laws of customs and usage untouched," Fernandes said, adding that the present Code of Comunidades, 1961 is the descent from the Charter of Foral of Afonso Mexia issued in September 1526, sixteen years after the conquest of the Island of Goa and even before Bardez and Salcete were ceded to the Portuguese in 1542 by Ismael Adil Shah.
Code of Comunidades, 1961 is a law in force over Comunidade Villages and regulates all land matters, he said adding that it operates independent to the Land Revenue Code.
He said no talk on regularisation of illegal houses makes any sense when the report of government appointed Commission on Comunidades has not even been adopted by it.
Soter D'Souza who raised the banner of revolt against indiscriminate real estate development on land of the controversial Serula Comunidade couple of decades ago, felt that the fact that people are forced to encroach and build illegally on non-government land reflects a failure of government policy on providing affordable housing to citizens.
"Encouraging illegalities helps politicians to enslave citizens and keep them vulnerable to political manipulation for votes. Legalising such illegal encroachments on Comunidade land will endanger the safety and security of private property in the State," D'Souza said, adding that it sends a message that illegality and criminality related to land can be condoned by worshipping politicians.
He said it is injustice to law abiding common citizens who take pains to obtain all permissions and obtain the requisite construction permissions. Similarly, it is injustice to Componentes of Comunidades who are in need of affordable land and housing themselves.
