AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
ANJUNA: Winds of unity were felt blowing during the Extra-Ordinary Annual General body Meeting (EoGM) of Comunidade of Anjuna when all gauncars unanimously decided to compensate fellow gauncars fighting cases in the High Court and Supreme Court beneficial to the body.
The sixth minute of the EoGM reads: “It is decided in the in the Extra-Ordinary General Body Meeting that the cases which are pending in High Court and Supreme Court if it is beneficial to comunidade than comunidade should compensate to the applicant Trevor Mascarenhas. It is unanimously resolved in the EoGM.”
The question of compensation arose when the matter “to discuss on the cases that are pending before the High Court and Supreme Court came up for discussion”.
At this point, gauncar Pedro Mendonca stood up and reasoned that “the compensation paid would not only decrease the financial burden but show the comunidades solidarity with those working for the good of the community”.
Mascarenhas, it may be noted, is fighting a tenancy case at the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court where two lakh square meters of the comunidade is at stake.
A case is also being fought in the Supreme Court regarding the North Goa Administrator of Comunidade overruling the decision of the Gauncars in relation to the fees to be paid during the last Sunburn Festival.
“All of us will stand to gain with the work Mascarenhas has put in. Why should all of us benefit with him spending money from his pocket,” asked Mendonca. This was the only point in the agenda that was decided with none objecting.
Discussion tended to veer on whether land should be leased during Christmas week when the application from Tribevibe Entertainment Private Limited to organise a Bollywood event came up.
Whilst many gauncars raised objections on grounds that Christmas is family time, a few gauncars , living in the neighbouring states, were in favour. The general body rejected the application on the basis that, “it was incomplete”.
TVS Motosol and an International Bike week were approved during the meeting. The EoGM also decided to get the land surveyed and it be mapped so as to avoid illegal encroachments and land use be changed in the future.