The Sancoale comunidade in an unprecendented action spread across more than two days managed to demolish the 64 illegal structures on its land behind the Birla police outpost at Sancoale. The three structures that could not be razed on Thursday due to paucity of time are scheduled for Friday. The demolition was executed as per the High Court order, and in the presence of a strong police force and officials from the Mamlatdar and deputy collector’s office and almost cleared off the remainder of the illegalities on Thursday.
The demolition stands in sharp contrast to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's recent comments about the government's intention to regularise houses of Goans on Comunidade land and gives yet another twist to the controversy. The question is whether Comunidades which are fighting against encroachments will follow the Sancoale path. Or whether the government will go one step ahead?
The Sancoale demolition stands apart for Comunidades have not been a witness to such an elaborate and intense exercise in recent history. It's been a long-drawn battle for the attorney of the comunidade, involving multiple court interventions. Interestingly, it comes at a time when the government is racing ahead with its plan to bring about an amendment to regularise houses of “Goans” which stand illegally on Comunidade land.
This demolition sends out a clear message that not all Comunidades are going to take the regularisation plan of the government in their stride and define the path. The question here is whether other bodies will show intent and the will to take on encroachments just the way Sancoale did, especially when the government is speaking of making a decisive tweak in the law.
If we may recall, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had stated and reiterated several times that an amendment to the Comunidade law will be brought about in the ensuing Assembly session to ensure that no injustice is done to Goans living on Comunidade land. He had assured that the Comunidades would be taken into confidence through a consultative process and clarified that this amendment would not be a backdoor move to regularise slums. The government's motive can be contested here because it has not allowed the regularisation of such encroachment on its land.
The Sancoale incident may not be able to set a template for other Comunidades because of the inherent problems where members have become partners in the crime of encroachment. It is the disintegration and divisions within Comunidade bodies that have opened up new avenues for the government which fundamentally enjoyed only administrative tutelage.
The Sancoale story shows the murky side of encroachments of comunidade land. An illegality of a mere two houses grew to be more than a colony of 64 illegal structures, with houses being built overnight. The High Court's order staying further constructions is testimony to the daylight loot and plunder of land. If the government forces its way to regularise such structures through a legislative remedy, it would be against judicial reasoning and also against the basic precincts of the Comunidade law.
The ball is set rolling and it is for the many other Comunidades who face massive encroachments, including villas and commercial structures in their properties, to take the Sancoale footsteps and knock on the doors of the High Court before it is too late, or, turn a blind eye.
