The over 2,000 years old Gaunkari system was adopted by the Portuguese and nurtured and the original people of the area were made the owners of their pristine lands and given dividends from its earnings. The system still continues, the Comunidade system still pays dividends, still owns lands and is very much alive in Goa. So significant was the Comunidade system that the Portuguese government sanctioned a swanky building for the Administration of Comunidades, which was completed and once of the first state of the art buildings to be thrown open post – liberation.
The BJP government, despite promises, refuses to fix the building, which has gone on to be identified unsafe by the Margao Municipal Council. “The roof leaks and hence you can see the water on the floor. We have opened umbrellas and worn raincoats and worked. We’ve agitated and gone on pen-down strikes, asking them to fix the dilapidated structure, but not once, has anything been done,” explains the head clerk at the building.
She shows us how one side of the building is cordoned off and sealed because it’s unsafe and all the staff is moved to the other end, where also, rain water has flooded the floor and moisture is eating into important documents.
“In the last fifteen years, the Margao municipal building which was terrible, has undergone a major facelift and is an iconic structure, government office were given new premises in the SGPDA complex and have now been shifted to the state of the art South Goa Collectorate, the old Collectorate besides us has undergone a facelift and the agriculture department has moved there, then why not the comunidade building be moved, renovated or repaired is surprising,” explains Nevin Melo, who explains to us how he says a little prayer before entering the building to collect his dividend.
“I have just been posted here. As a temporary measure, I moved out the employees from the side that is unsafe. I am posted here with additional charge and have other responsibilities but my priority is to gather funds to fix this building and the mess in this office. I need some time to fix this situation,” explains Dinesh Priolkar, the newly appointed Administrator of Comunidades. His reply is a duplicate of Pravin Barad, the previous administrator who served three stints in that office or any other officer who took additional charge.
“The comunidade system is in a mess. There are encroachments, no action against illegalities on comunidade lands. The staff and comunidade committee members are conniving to change records and manipulate documents to transfer, encroach and sell off comunidade lands. The office says records are destroyed by termites or not available, the administrator is never around, the office is dangerous dingy area,” I can’t imagine, a system of over 2,000 years that people globally envy, is left to rot this way by the government,” explains” explains Joao Philip Pereira, a member of seven comunidades, attorney of Cortalim Comunidade and the convenor of South Goa Comunidade Forum.
Similarly, Avinash Shirodkar, Margao ward councilor and member of the South Goa Freedom Fighter’s Committee for the June 18 celebration at Lohia Maidan, whose office is located at the back of the same building asserted that recently he had to send a notice to the administration of comunidade of South Goa as the building sewage and toilet connection were openly released into the iconic Lohia Maidan, which was a major embarrassment to the MMC.
