It’s been more than one and half a decade the issue of Bondvol Lake is in dispute between the tenant Mahadev Kavlekar, Comunidade of Calapur and Department of Water Resources. Unfortunately the custodian, who is Comunidade of Calapur, is still dragging its feet in the court to settle the tenancy issue which is a wide concern of the villagers to save the only water resource of the village.
In August 2005 Joint Mamlatdar (I) Tiswadi taluka Nital B Naik passed an ex-party order and declared Keshav (father of Mahadev) Kavlekar as the tenant of the agricultural land in a survey number 144/1 of village Calapur belonging to the Comunidade of Calapur while allowing the petition filed in April 1994 under tenancy act.
The issues of Bondvol Lake triggered with this order of the Joint Mamlatdar giving the tenancy right in the particular survey number which is an area of lake. The order has bypassed the Code of Comunidade that, ‘no tenant can own Comunidade land of more than 550 sq mtrs’.
The Calapur Comunidade was a party in the case since 1994 but they failed to represent in the court which led the joint Mamlatdar of Tiswadi to pass an ex-party order.
However, the same order of Joint Mamlatdar of 2005 was challenged in District Sessions Court in the year 2011 by Calapur Comunidade. Elli Fernandes, President of Calapur Comunidade, has said that the proceeding is yet to start but the delay in condonation is admitted in the court.
It is also the fact that WRD had filed two separate complaints at the Old Goa Police Station against Mahadev Kavlekar for illegally damaging the public property at the lake in the year 2003 and also for illegally opening the sluice gate of the lake in the year 2012.
Former President of Calapur Comunidade Mariano Araujo had also complained to Police Station, Water Resource Department, Director of Public Grievance, Chief Secretary of Goa and also Chief Minister of Goa.
The 2003 case was registered and charge sheeted by Old Goa Police in November 2003 whereas the accused was acquitted in May 2007.
As per complaints of the WRD of July 2003, Old Goa Police had held Mahadev Kavlekar accountable for damaging the Bondvol Lake which was constructed during pre-liberation era. He was arrested by police in July and was later released on bail.
The locals have complained now that the said accused has also blocked the access towards the lake.
It may be recalled that the Keshav Kavlekar has taken the said property on lease for cultivation in the year 1967 from the Comunidade of Calapur and due to the enforcement of the Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964, Kavlekar claimed for the tenancy right in the property.
