TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: The South Goa Comunidades Forum has said the only long-term solution to the issue of irregular payments of salaries to the comunidade employees is the retrenchment of all employees or their absorption by government in any of its departments.
Pointing accusing fingers at the government as being the creator of the problem, the Forum said the epicentre of the current financial mess and bankruptcy of the administration office has been the alleged illegal appointment of 26 LDCs and 3 peons in the last 10-12 years to non-existent posts and ignoring the dwindling financial position of the comunidades after the Fifth Amendment. “The application of Central pay scales resulted in exponential increase in the salary bill. The posts were not advertised nor Employment Exchange consulted nor statutory selection examinations conducted. Services of select few daily-wagers were surreptitiously ‘regularized.’ In addition to imposing a huge financial burden on comunidades, incompetent and unqualified persons came to be appointed,” stated John Philip Pereira.
He pointed that revenue from leases of paddy fields and other agricultural operations which were the major revenue source for the agrarian societies dried up after enactment of Fifth Amendment to the Agricultural Tenancy Act 1964, that struck a death blow to the age-old bodies. “There are 90 comunidades under the Administration of Comunidades of South Zone in the talukas of Salcete (40), Mormugao (14), Quepem (24), Sanguem and Canacona (7 each). Out of these, only 25 are generating income above Rs 1 lakh, the remaining 65 are “dead” or non-functional. Over half of the comunidades in South Zone are in penury. At present, the income source is primarily from interest on term deposits of paltry amounts received as compensation from acquisition of large tracts of lands,” he said.
Saying that expenditure of the Administrator’s office has been increasing exponentially over the years, the Forum said the day is not far when the entire income of the South Goa Comunidades would have to be paid to the Administrator to defray pay and allowances and other expenses, leaving nothing for disbursement of jonos/dividends to the gaunkars and shareholders.
“The Comunidades have rejected any grant-in-aid from the Government that would dilute their autonomy, made abundantly clear in the Convention under Art 652 of Code of Comunidades in October 2009 and reiterated in WP 406/2009 filed by some shareholders”, the Forum added.
