Caurem villagers express deep indignation and anger at what they called ‘crocodile tears’ shed by the Chief Minister, Dy Chief Minister and the Minister for Co-operation at the Sahakar Sammelan held recently at Mapusa. “It is shocking that we are governed by such two-faced persons, who can lie before the people and display false emotions towards the co-operative sector, while actively doing the opposite by suppressing the co-operative spirit in our state,” said Ravindra Velip, Chief Promoter, Proposed Sadhana Multipurpose Co-op Society, Caurem. The villagers pointed out that they submitted grievances to the Minister for Co-operation 8 months ago requesting only registration of their society, but no reply has been received till date. They further felt that the response of the Government makes it abundantly clear that it is only concerned about proit and money, and is actively suppressing the co-operative movement in the state. “When mining was stopped all over Goa in 2012, all the mining workers from our village were retrenched by the mining companies. Scores of trucks are also lying idle in our village, and we are left to deal with unemployment, loans and poverty. Faced with these challenges, most residents of Caurem, especially youth and women, resolved in June 2014 to form a co-operative society with the prime objective to restore our hereditary agricultural occupation,” explained Velip. 263 promoter members, mostly belonging to Scheduled Tribes, iled an application on 05/06/2014 before the Sub-Registrar to register the proposed Sadhana Multipurpose Co-op Society Ltd, after complying with all procedures. “Till this day, the assistant registrar continues to refuse to register our co-operative society, and even passed an order stating that the society would not be economically viable. The anguished villagers have been forced to approach courts to challenge the refusal to register the society,” added Velip. The people’s co-operative initiative has thus been illegally delayed by the government for more than a year and a half, and the authorities are not even bothered to attend the proceedings in the court, causing further delays. “Formation of a co-operative society is a Fundamental Right guaranteed to each citizen under the Constitution of India, but our Government seems to have no respect for the Constitution, or for the citizens,” added Velip. Caurem villagers condemned the ministers, who they claim are intentionally destroying the fundamental rights of the citizens to life and livelihood, especially of the oppressed classes such as tribals, isherfolk, farmers and landless labourers. “Residents of Caurem were irst displaced by illegal mining, which has destroyed our forests, springs and agricultural lands. Now, when we are trying to revive agriculture through the co-operative sector, the government is misusing the powers granted by the people against the people themselves,” he added. The residents of Caurem, therefore urge the government to stop harassing them and to register their co-operative society without any further delays. “We also urge the government to discard its obsession with competition and profits, and to instead adopt the co-operative spirit, which is the only sustainable solution to our social, economic and environmental woes,” said Velip. Caurem villagers opined that Co-operative production is the need of the hour not just for the State, but also for the entire world, which is facing the deepest economic recession in the history of the industrial era. “The co-operative sector needs to be nourished and actively supported by the people and the government, as the competitive spirit of the proit oriented market economy, which is responsible for grave environmental, economic and social ills of human society, threatens our very existence,” he asserted.
