The ravaging of our farms, our fields and our hills, in the most brutal way, has become a way of life in Goa. A cruel heartless and never-ending spree is witnessed, where the ravagers are taking advantage of a system that allows this to happen.
But this time, people are absolutely aghast at the targeting of even community land owned by the Comunidades, by the very system of governance that is mandated to protect them. And if the intention is to protect communities, it cannot be done by the government simply talking over their functioning, and allowing itself and private players to “play” on land meant for Gauncars.
The latest and one of the biggest, in terms of the sheer land bank targeted, is the move to literally take over Comunidade lands that were meant to always be within the community, for community purposes. An institution that is unique has now become State-controlled under the firm grip of the government which quite clearly does not want to leave large tracts of Comunidade land encompassing some of the finest agricultural lands, out of its bounds.
Land meant for Gauncars for their needs is now being surrendered at the altar of projects both public and private.
There is not even a semblance of pretence on the government’s part when it comes to talking about absolute and total control of the Comunidades which traditionally had rights and control over their lands. Now the last remaining unique remnants of this uniqueness of Goa, its community lands meant for Gauncars for their needs, are now being surrendered at the altar of projects both public and private.
And here lies the danger. Apart from the draconian amendment allowing the sale of land to landless children of shareholders facilitating entry of outsiders as owners of Comunidade land, the other amendments point to the vice-like grip of the government on these bodies.
If a public-spirited governor gives consent to these amendments to take the effect of law, the effect on people will be like a red rag to a bull
Most right-thinking people of Goa, beyond the Gauncars will see this as the last straw in the systematic destruction of the Code of Comunidades and the end of a five-century-plus ethic of land ownership and distribution.
A Comunidade can’t be treated like a Public Sector Undertaking under the government’s tutelage
Even as experts on the functioning of Comunidade have challenged the government by saying that the legislature has no right to make amendments to the Principal Code of Comunidades or make rules, the government has gone ahead and done exactly that, rejecting the challenge and argument of almost all the experts. The amendments have entered into sensitive areas like allowing an extension of a managing committee, the right to suspend managing committees of Comunidades, and the right to appoint a government officer “to take charge of the affairs of the Comunidade”.
The ostensible reason here is that the government is stepping in to prevent illegalities in the functioning of the Comunidade. But should a check on legalities (termed “working against the interest” of the Comunidade) be done by changing the basic nature, structure, and purpose of Comunidades in a manner where it looks like a complete government takeover?
The insertion of a new article Article 334 C after 334 B of the Principal Code allows the government to grant a “long lease” of land for any public project for any period to any government undertaking or “statutory body” constituted by the government. Though the Teflon coating of “with prior consent the Comunidade” has been mentioned, is it practically possible under the present circumstances for any Comunidade not to give consent to the government?
Are the original Gauncars, the true custodians of community lands, not right in terming this as a “rape of their lands” due to the sheer assault on them, when there is land available outside of these lands for government projects? And a “long lease” instead of outright acquisition will allow the government to get these lands without paying fair compensation under the Land Acquisition Act, which they would have to if they had “acquired” their lands and not leased them.
The next Article 339 C literally seals it in favour of private parties accessing Comunidade land saying the “government may entrust the work of development of the land to private parties” and even grant subdivided plots.
This jaw-dropping amendment is shockingly brazen hammering the last nail in the coffin of Comunidades making little distinction between these lands, supposed to be cocooned, and private lands that are anyway gobbled up by land sharks and precious community lands kept protected so far for the use of the community’s special needs
One can even ask if there is capital punishment for rape “in the rarest of the rare scenario”, what should be the punishment for assault and plunder of our land akin to the committing of a rape?
If the government has a justification for all of the above, it hasn’t been forthcoming because the amendments were introduced so speedily that there was no scope for the amendments to be discussed in far more detail and the government grilled on the floor of the House. Perhaps it’s passing ‘helped’ all.
And more importantly, talking “possession” of Comunidade lands is a far greater objective than justifying or explaining actions to the people who they are supposed to serve.
But governments that ignore people, have in the past been taught democratic lessons, and this time may be no different.
Meanwhile, outside the universe of the Comunidade, the assault continues. Like vultures, swooping down on flesh, everyone wants a piece of Goa’s land. From first villas to second homes to third mega project to a home for the forth “partner” or a land bank for the family’s fifth generation to live happily, there is a sixth sense that looting Goa’s land is the easiest and if there are difficulties they will be “amended”, or mended.
Another form of cruelly is land acquisitions which throw people literally on the road in the name of public interest. Let us not forget many Mopa land losers are still looking toward the court hoping for their land title issues to get sorted to get compensation for their land in which planes are landing and taking off in the swank Mopa International Airport.
At the same time hundreds of Goans find that their ancestral homes, including those in which they are still living have been sold many times through forged documents and the new “owners” in some cases have built apartments and sold them to others. They are now intruders on their own land. This horrible turn of events has been facilitated by the active involvement and connivance of the administration including mamlatdars and registrars .
One by one every semblance of normalcy is being taken away. When land, as our identity and as precious and as generational, is not safe from either land grabbing and loot, or sadly amendments to community lands, pieces of Goa that Goans called their own are falling very rapidly.
