PEDAMOL (QUEPEM): For two years the Mamlatdar, the Deputy Collector and supposedly the Attorney of the Comunidade, kept sending reports of how comunidade land at Pedemol was illegally given away to migrants to build houses. Now after series of investigative reports done by Herald, unmasking the deliberate negligence of the government and comunidade officials, as 200 houses got constructed on comunidade land based on fraudulent affidavits, which declared them tenants and deemed owners; these officials have woken up again.
The heat is clearly on. As a team of Herald and HCN stormed the offices of the Comunidade Attorney, the mamlatdar and the Deputy Collector, it was obvious that a cat was set among the pigeons. Each of these officials reached out to Herald saying that they had done their job of pointing out the illegalities. But this “pointing out” happened at different times starting from four years, two years to last year. But what happened was just letter writing and file moving, if at all, while comunidade plots were handed and houses built. These houses soon received water and electricity connections.
Our first stop was the Attorney of the Communidade of Shirvoi, who doubles up as a clerk in the Quepem Municipal Council. It is the Attorney, who, as Herald reported, signed an affidavit declaring migrants as tenants, thereby allowing them to actually construct houses on comunidade land. Herald has in its possession, an affidavit signed by the previous Attorney Ghanshyam Shirvoikar (now deceased). But it is very likely (though we don’t have documentary evidence yet) that the present Attorney, Subodh Sirvoikar, who happens to be his nephew, did exactly the same. A clearly nervous Attorney pleaded, “Please don’t be harsh, I am a Government employee and I will be in trouble”. And his defence was classic. “I have submitted report to the administrator of comunidade on the encroachment of the said land”. And when was this done you wonder. His response stumped Team Herald. “In 2012”. For four years, the Administrator has not acted on a report of the Attorney. But the irony here is that the Attorney himself signed affidavits giving false tenancy rights to migrants from Karnataka to build houses.
Incidentally, several members of the Shirvoikar family have been Attorneys of the comunidade, in this crude fashion of family raj in this comunidade.
When Herald-HCN went to meet the Mamlatdar Prataprao Gaonkar it was clearly seen that he was waiting to clarify his side. He said “Reading the news on Herald I have immediately constituted a team of Circle Inspector and 2 Field Surveyors and 2 additional Talathi’s and have asked to verify the entire area and file it in 2 days,” he said.
“In the past we have already filed a checklist on the encroachment at Pedamol and have addressed them to the Escrivao and Attorney of Comunidade. I will now submit a report to the Deputy Collector for further action” he said.
Remember this has been going on for six years, 200 houses have been built and the mamlatdar now says a report will be submitted for further action.
The Deputy Collector Shankar Gaonkar also appeared more than willing to see Herald team in his office and quickly jumped to justify what and how he has done to stop the land grab. He said, “I had in the past written to the Administrator of Comunidade to initiate action against the illegalities and written to him on 7th of August 2015. After reading the Herald news I have now sent yet another letter to the Administrator of Communidades to initiate action on my prior letter” Gaonkar said.
Thus, for close to a year, the Administrator of Communidades sat on a report on illegalities in the Shirvoi Communidade, while illegal houses kept standing.
However under pressure from Herald’s reports, the Deputy Collector said, “I will initiate action based on the Land and Revenue Code against the Administrator of Communidade of Shirvoi and other responsible persons in the case. The Deputy Collector has the direct power to initiate action against such violations under the Code of Communidades” he said.
Herald asks why he didn’t do it for so many years.
