TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: In a bid to bring all the 233 comunidades in Goa on a common platform, the All Goa Comunidades Federation has come together with the aim to create better awareness and coordination among the various comunidades.
Addressing a press conference, Savio D’Souza of the Federation said that it was formed primarily to counter government interference in comunidades, but would take up other issues such as those of encroachments and how to deal with them.
“Article 6 of the Code of Comunidades mandates a yearly meeting of all the comunidades. But this is not happening. Our effort is to make this meeting happen and from there address our issues in common,” D’Souza said.
“The government is unilaterally taking decisions without taking the comunidades into confidence,” D’Souza stated.
He added that they would soon be holding a general body meeting asking the executive committee of each comunidade to send one representative for the meeting, where they would draw up their aims and objectives and frame rules, etc.
When questioned about how some executive committees themselves are complicit in encroachments on comunidade land, D’Souza said that the way out of this problem was to alert gaocars about their rights and responsibilities so that the alert gaocars can help turn the tide against the executive committee.
“Some comunidades have done deals, without taking the general body into confidence and sometimes keeping the general body in the dark. We seek to create awareness among the gaocars of these comunidades so they can put pressure on the executive committee,” D’Souza said.
The federation is also worried about the recent reports appearing in the press about Government of Goa constituting a Panel/Commission under Article 652 of the Code of Comunidades, to look into the affairs and to study and suggest measures of revitalizing these age-old bodies and also to fix responsibility for irregularities by administration office.
“It has been a cause of concern among Comunidades as the same has not been done in consultation with the Comunidades of Goa. This Federation shall certainly deliberate on this issue in the forthcoming general body meeting on 1st May,” D’Souza said.
The meeting of the 223 Comunidades will be held on Wednesday, May 1, at Jeevottam Mutt, Porvorim, at 10.30 am.
