VITHALDAS HEGDE
PANJIM: As public awareness grows around the dangers of the recently passed Comunidade amendment bill, Goa's ancient land custodians — the Comunidades — are gearing up for a sustained and fierce battle.
The All Goa Comunidades Association on Thursday voiced strong opposition to The Goa Legislative Diploma No 2070 dated 15-4-1961 (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which seeks to regularise unauthorised structures built before February 28, 2014, on Comunidade lands. The bill was controversially passed by the Goa Assembly on August 8 amid uproar and protests from opposition members.
At a press conference held at the Administration of Comunidades, Central Zone building in Panjim, Benaulim MLA and president of the Comunidade of Carambolim, Venzy Viegas, urged all Comunidade managing committees to pass formal resolutions opposing the bill. He also called for united participation in the upcoming Monsoon Fellowship Programme at St Xavier’s Research Institute, Porvorim, on August 24.
Calling the bill a deliberate attack on the autonomy of Comunidades, Viegas warned, “This is Bhumiputra Version II — an attempt to usurp the rights of Comunidades without their consent.” He said the Fellowship Programme would be used to educate members on the core principles and legal functioning of Comunidades, and to build a cohesive resistance. “All Comunidades must adopt resolutions opposing this bill and help preserve Goa’s age-old land heritage,” he declared.
For ease of coordination, Viegas also shared a facsimile of the resolution to be adopted by the managing committees. He confirmed that the All Goa Comunidades Association would soon meet with Governor Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju to discuss the bill and its far-reaching implications. “We will brief the Governor about what this government is attempting to do to the Comunidades,” Viegas said.
Joining the call to action, Nelson Fernandes, attorney of the Comunidade of Assagao, said the Fellowship would also offer basic training on Comunidade laws to ensure members are equipped to defend their institutions. Sucorro Menezes (attorney, Comunidade of Jua) and Luis Antonio D’Silva (Comunidade of Goltim) echoed the concerns.
Adding legal weight to the protest, former Advocate General and Curtorim MLA Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira delivered a stern warning about the bill’s implications. “This bill is not designed to help illegal encroachers — it will do them a great disservice. It will trap them and ultimately destroy them,” he said.
Ferreira cited the Supreme Court’s clear stance that illegal constructions must be dealt with firmly, and referenced a recent Himachal Pradesh High Court order directing the state government to evict all illegal structures on public lands.
As the government attempts to push forward with the amendment, the message from Goa’s Comunidades is becoming louder and clearer: they will not stand by while their land, legacy, and legal rights are put on the line