GERARD D’SOUZA
gerard@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Here’s the modus operandi: Choose a plot of land within the evacuee property, “buy” it, build your house and later demand that it be regularized while also forming a pressure group to demand that the land be given to you, claiming that you are an age-old mundkar. All this while the office of the Custodian of Evacuee Property remains a mute spectator.
While the issue of illegal houses being constructed within evacuee property is old as the declaration of the property as an evacuee property itself, of late there have been reports of purported sale of land, where money has changed hands between “buyers” and “sellers”.
These so-called buyers later take “possession” of the land and embark on construction, despite the rights, title and interest in the land all resting with the Custodian.
Encouraged by the failure of the Custodian to act against encroachers, the pace of illegal encroachment is only increasing in Mayem. The illegalities are also emboldened by the campaign by an interest group ~ Mayem Bhuvimochan Kruti Samiti ~ that is piling on the pressure on the government to get it to legalize their houses. The icing on the scam cake is that the website of the Custodian of Evacuee Property nonchalantly admits to the illegalities.
“In the year 1967 there were 340 legal houses at Mayem. No permissions have been given to construct new houses in the Evacuee property at Mayem after 1967 till date. However, thereafter from the year 1968 to 30.6.2000 about 397 illegal houses have been constructed. Vide Notification dated 4/6/2001 the government has carried out an Amendment to Evacuee Properties Act 42 of 2001 by which every person who is in occupation as on 30/6/2000 of any dwelling house situated in Evacuee Property shall be deemed to be a Mundkar of his dwelling house. Further, from July 2000 till date additional 158 illegal houses have come up thus the total comes to 340+397+158= 895. It is observed that large number of illegal constructions are going on in the Evacuee Property at Mayem,” the home page of the website of the Custodian of Evacuee Property reads.
HERALD has learnt that properties and possession is being “sold” with the assurance that the interest group will pressurize the government into finding a “solution” to the issue. The unfortunate aspect of the whole scam is that the intention of returning land to the genuinely disposessed and giving them mundkar rights has been completely negated by this misuse.
A solution of sorts was attempted by the government to the extent that through an amendment to the Mundkar Act it provided every person who is in occupation as on June 30, 2000, of any dwelling unit situated in the Evacuee property vested in the Custodian to be a Mundkar of his dwelling house. This amendment has been challenged in the Bombay High Court at Goa on grounds of legality, but even whilst that legal challenge plays out the officially admitted 158 illegal houses ~ the unofficial figure is much, much higher ~ remain very much in place in blatant mockery of the law of the land.
HERALD has learnt that there is another petition before the Bombay High Court at Goa demanding that the Custodian do his job ~ of taking care of the property which he is vested with ~ properly. The duties of a Custodian are to ensure, under Section 26 of the Goa, Daman & Diu Administration of Evacuee Property Act, that any person who willfully destroys or causes damage to any evacuee property or unlawfully converts it to his own use shall be punishable with a fine or imprisonment up to three years or both. However, till date the Office of the Custodian of Evacuee property has not initiated a single criminal complaint against any of the encroachers or violators of the land, the petition has pointed out.
The office of the Custodian has sent out notices to violators claiming that action will be initiated against them, but that so-called action remains, literally, only on paper.The Custodian of Evacuee property, Megnath Parab, when contacted, said he was issuing notices to the defaulters with copies to the relevant revenue authorities to take action. “We can only issue notices to the violators and the copies to the deputy collector mamlatdar, etc,” Parab told HERALD, when questioned about the inaction of his office against violations and lack of action on the part of the authorities. He said that once the notice is issued, it’s the job of the revenue authorities to act. HERALD has learnt, however, with just one head-clerk at his disposal, no proper premises, and no vehicle either, the office of the
Custodian of Evacuee Property is seriously constrained in performing its duties as expected.
Kashinath Mayenkar of the Mayem Bhuvimochan Nagrik Kruti Samiti, when contacted for his reaction, told HERALD that illegalities are for the Custodian to handle. “There are illegalities coming up, but that’s because of the laxity on the part of the Custodian,” Mayenkar said. He added, clearly revealing his mind: “If the Custodian were to give permissions to build, the houses would not be illegal.” The interest group is awaiting the fulfilling of an “assurance” from the government that it will “solve” the issue by December this year. He denied that the interest group was promising smooth passage to regularization for potential buyers of evacuee property.
The office of the Custodian was established to administer and manage the properties left behind by Portuguese Nationals in Goa, Daman and Diu (Evacuees). The office of Custodian of Evacuee Property came into existence in the year 1962. The Evacuee Property Act and Rules were published in the years 1964 and 1965 and actual charge of the properties taken over in 1968/69. There is a separate petition challenging the notification of the Mayem evacuee property as evacuee itself on grounds that the the heirs were Indian nationals and residing in India. The petitioner in this case, Antonio SC Pereira and his advocate refused to comment on the case and said declarations if any on their part will be made before the court.
Mayem MLA too got notice for constructing ‘illegal house’
Among the many notices sent by the Custodian of evacuee property is that of current deputy speaker and MLA of Mayem constituency Anant Vishnu Shet ~ who has received not one but two notices for constructing a house without the prior permission of the Custodian both in 2009. The notices were sent by the then Custodian, Joaosinho Vaz for an illegal construction of a house at Kumbharwada, Mayem, in Survey No 272/16. “The Act of illegal construction of house… is contrary to the provision of the Goa, Daman and Diu Administration of Evacuee Property Act and rules framed thereunder. You are therefore requested to produce to this office all the valid property documents and permission granted by the Village Panchayat, Mayem, within seven days from the date of receipt of this notice failing which action as per law will be initiated against you,” the notice reads. Notices were also sent to Premendra V Shet and Durgaram V Shet, for construction in the same survey number. Despite repeated calls and text messages to the MLA asking for his reaction, whether he replied to the notices, and if so whether the authorities had dropped proceedings against him, there was no response.
