Goyche Fuddle Pilge Khatir (GFPK), a Goa-based NGO dedicated to safeguarding the state’s heritage and protecting the interests of future generations, has urged Governor Ashok Gajapathi Raju to withhold assent to the Goa Legislative Diploma No. 2070 (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The controversial bill seeks to regularise unauthorised constructions on Comunidade lands across Goa.
In a detailed joint memorandum submitted to the Raj Bhavan on Monday, GFPK termed the legislation “a direct assault on Goa’s cultural heritage and future generations’ rights,” citing violations of the Code of Comunidades, constitutional principles, and binding judicial precedents.
The organisation emphasised that Comunidade lands, rooted in Goa’s indigenous Gaonkar system of self-governance, represent centuries-old community ownership and sustainable land management. “The proposed bill undermines these collective rights, rewards illegality, and compromises the rule of law,” the memorandum stated.
GFPK highlighted several legal and constitutional breaches, including: Contravention of Articles 5, 7, and 36 of the Code of Communidades, Violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, enabling unfair benefits to illegal occupants and Breach of the principle of intergenerational equity, depriving future generations of their rightful heritage.
The memorandum also cited key judicial pronouncements, including a 2025 Supreme Court ruling in Comunidade of Tivim v. State of Goa, which held that Comunidade lands are private community properties that cannot be alienated to benefit encroachers. Earlier rulings in Jagpal Singh v. State of Punjab (2011) and Ramnath Naik v. State of Goa (2023) were also referenced to underscore the illegality of such regularizations.
Calling the bill “a point of no return,” GFPK warned of irreversible damage, including heritage destruction, environmental disruption, economic injustice, and erosion of the rule of law. The NGO urged the Governor to return the bill for reconsideration and to initiate stronger legal measures to protect Goa’s unique Comunidade system.
“This is a fight for Goa’s identity and the rights of generations yet to come,” said GFPK President Jack Mascarenhas, appealing for constitutional intervention to prevent what the group described as a “heritage catastrophe.”