PANJIM: Ahead of the Monsoon Session of Goa Legislative Assembly, the State government has proposed major amendments to the Code of Comunidades, wherein the government can acquire the land up to 5,000 sq mts without consent of the comunidade. At the same time, it has proposed to debarred the members from contesting elections, if found to be encroachers of the comunidade land.
Under Secretary (Revenue - I) Girish Sawant had on May 27, circulated a draft of the amendments to the Administrators of Comunidades of North, South and Central, seeking feedback or consultation with the managing committees of various comunidades before submitting it for the government approval.
The amendments, which are mostly likely to be introduced in the upcoming Monsoon Session, seek to alter six articles of the Code of Comunidades, besides inserting new article which enables “grant of land for public projects” to the State government.
“The Bill seeks to amend various provisions whereby making provisions for debarring the members of comunidade from contesting elections if they are encroachers in the comunidade land,” the proposed amendment stated.
The Bill provides for procuring/acquiring land for government projects with consent of the Managing Committee and also to acquire land upto 5,000 sq mts for public projects without the consent of comunidade.
When contacted, officials in the Revenue Department confirmed that they are yet to receive feedback from any of the comunidade body. Official also did not ruled out possibility of introducing the amendments in the coming session.
The amendments, are however, not welcomed by the managing committees, who wants to deliberate on the amendments in detail.
“We are going to deliberate the amendments, as suggested, among our comunidade components across Goa and submit our view with respect to these amendments,” Guirim Comunidade President Tulio De Souza said.
He said that many of these amendments are really not required and they need to be analysed very carefully.
“We need to be careful, so that we should not land up losing comunidade land just because the government has some other agenda or motive,” De Souza said.
Secretary of Association of Components of Comunidades Andre Pereira said that the amendment to any provisions of the Code of Comunidade is not within the legislative domain of any State legislature.