MARGAO: A newly-formed group called Justica Para Comunidade, comprising shareholders and Gaonkars from various comunidades across Goa, convened their second meeting at Jubilate Hall in Cansaulim. The well-attended gathering aimed to deliberate on pressing issues plaguing the comunidades and work hand in hand for the betterment and safeguarding of comunidades all over Goa.
All members suggested a representation for Justica Para Comunidade in the form of a committee to address various problems causing hardships to common shareholders, Gaonkars, and illegal land encroachments before the appropriate authorities.
A committee was selected with Oswald Pinto as President, Colin Coelho as Attorney, and Aliette Heredia as Treasurer.
The meeting also saw active participation from a number of senior comunidade stakeholders from across the State.
Amongst the major issues discussed were the appointment of permanently temporary Administrators with no relevant or requisite experience in comunidade matters and the existence of ‘extremely insufficient and incompetent administrative staff without any relevant qualifications’. The pending applications for share transfers and children of Gaonkars, which have been delayed for extended periods, causing hardships to common shareholders and sons of the soil, were also raised.
Non-payment of dividend arrears, a legitimate right of every shareholder, was extensively discussed, with a particular emphasis on the Calangute comunidade, which has been delaying payments under various pretexts, including the code of election and objections raised, even though there can be no valid reason for non-payment. The validity of Article 438, allowing the forfeiture of shares for those who have not collected dividends for the past 30 successive years, was deliberated at length concerning the Nagoa comunidade. The interpretation of Article 438 concerning reversion of shares was discussed.
The Jaspal Singh order by the Supreme Court on land matters and its implementation for every comunidade was also a subject of discussion.
