At the time when Portuguese left territory of Goa, it was environmentally a well managed territory with limited population, good legal frame work of land laws and fine Administrative system with good law and order situation. It was said that people rarely interfered with other land and there was very few land disputes. It was basically a peaceful and well-knit society on the social ladder, with mundkar having good relations with bhatkar as well as other kind of landlord–tenant relationship.
The Portuguese Administration system was based on civil rights and therefore, Civil Administration. Treasury/Financial Affairs were totally separated from Civil System. On the contrary, all over British India had developed Collectorate or Revenue Administration system and mounted on it was Civil Administration. The new administrator, who came to rule Goa after liberation, was finding it difficult. Mainly bureaucrats from Maharashtra, who had upper hand, were familiar with Revenue Administration. These Maharashtrians and other officers from other part of the country, who came down to Goa to rule, were interested in continuing Civil Administration system and desired to introduce British’s Revenue system based system, wherein ownership to land vested in the State and people were merely occupants.
After Goa was brought under the Constitution of India, President of India, brought Daman Village abolishment of proprietorship Act, 1962. Constitutional validity of the same was challenged in the Supreme Court of India where land system in Goa came to be examined by the five Judges Constitutional Bench of the Apex court. Hon’ble Supreme Court after examining all the land ownership laws prevailing in the Goa under Portuguese regime, came to the conclusion that there is no land tenure system in Goa and there are three types of lands in Goa, one is private lands with absolute rights or collectively held lands (like Comunidade) and Government lands. With regards to Government land the well-known principle was carved out in the decree of 3602 dated 24.11.1917 that what does not belong to any singular or collective persons, would belong to Government.
The Union Territory Government of Goa, in violation of aforesaid constitutional bench decision of the Apex court brought erroneous, un-constitution legislation in year 1968, called Goa Land Revenue Code, 1968, based on which legislation, the entire State of Goa was purportedly declared as revenue land and was brought under Collector, Dy Collectors, Mamlatdars and Talathis. Today, the Collector, who has no authority to exercise power on the private land, is illegally exercising powers over private land in as much as his powers are limited to collecting agricultural income tax under Diploma 1785 Matriz Predial, which is still in force.
On the above background, there is striking distinction in implementing the Indian laws passed by the Parliament and are made applicable to the State of Goa. The Indian revenue system claims entire land as “revenue land” and it has right to pass any class legislation curtailing right of the landowners to their land because such lands belongs to the State. This may be true so far as British India is concerned, however, when it comes to private land owners of Goa, the Goa land Revenue code gives same impression to administrative class that their powers are extended to every land, without distinguishing whether it is private or Government.
Unfortunately, in Goa, all intellectual class, advocates, Government servants, Judges, mostly everyone believes that Goa Land Revenue Code, 1968 has abolished their land ownership right and their rights are subject to government rules and regulations. However, this is totally absurd.
The agitators demanding for scrapping Planning area (PDA) should know that Government is illegally exercising its powers to plan over private property under the guise that all lands are revenue lands.
Peaceful Goan Society was put to unrest by the Government by enacting false and frivolous laws without studying ground reality and they were applied it to Goa. Private ownership of land is targeted by the land shark under the guise of tenancy Act or it carrying their name on form I & XIV. Indirectly, government is also attacking private owners claiming their lands as revenue lands, so on.
The Goa’s agitating masses should realise that real problem would not lay in scrapping PDA or Town Planning Act , but they should demand scrapping of Goa land Revenue Code, 1968, which gives wide powers to the Government under the guise that all lands are assessed for land revenue. There is only one option that Matriz-predial should be implemented after scrapping Goa Land Revenue Code, 1968, so that private owners’ right to property is established.
Goencho Avaaz, demanding for scrapping PDAs does not look to be properly guided. Because, ultimately, right of the Government to plan is limited to revenue lands. The corrupt Indian Collectorate system needs to be abolished and thrust has to be given to the real ownership documents prepared and preserved during Portuguese rule.
Though, right to property is not fundamental right, it is still Constitutional right and no one can deprive the land owners to his right without authority of law. Actually, it is not known under which entry of the VII Schedule of the Constitution Town Country Planning Act is enacted. It is said that entry 20 of the concurrent list and some say under urban/municipality and rural/Panchayat. Interestingly, most of the legislation enacted in past is either copied from Maharashtra, Delhi or Kerala and without studying ground realities in Goa, hence, the present unrest in the society is bound to take place.
(Author is an advocate and can be reached on email [email protected])
