Asserts its land is private, not comunidade; vows to move HC
MARGAO
In a significant development, the Sociedade Agricola Dos Gauncares De Cuncolim E Veroda has on Sunday categorically made it clear that the land owned by the Sociedade does not come under the government’s controversial Mhaje Ghar scheme.
In fact, the general body meeting of the Sociedade Agricola Dos Gauncares De Cuncolim e Veroda held on Sunday under the Chairmanship of Shaba Desai has resolved to file objection before the Chief Secretary and the South Goa Collector not to include the land owned by the Sociedade Agricola Dos Gauncares into the proposed Mhaje Ghar scheme.
The meeting has said the Sociedade would knock the doors of the High Court if any attempt is made to extend the Mhaje Ghar scheme to the Sociedade land in Cuncolim.
After the meeting, Chairman Shaba Desai informed that the general body meeting, which was called to deliberate on a host of issues, took up the issue of the Mhaje Ghar scheme in the wake of the statement made by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant that the scheme is also applicable to the land owned by the Sociedade in Cuncolim.
Shaba informed that members of the Sociedade were categorical in pointing out that the Sociedade Agricola Dos Gauncares de Cuncolim e Veroda is a private entity and cannot be compared with that of the comunidade land. “Since the members were clear in saying that the Sociedade land is different from comunidade land, they have resolved to ask the managing committee to send letters to the Chief Secretary and the South Goa District Collector,” he said.
To a question, Shaba further pointed out that members were clear in their stand that the Sociedade should challenge any move by the government to extend the Mhaje Ghar scheme to the Sociedade land in Cuncolim.
The Chief Minister had sparked a row during the launch of the Mhaje Ghar scheme in Cuncolim last month when he publicly stated that the housing scheme is also applicable to the illegal houses constructed on the Sociedade land in Cuncolim. In fact, he had urged house owners to use the forms for regularisation of the houses on comunidade land to houses built on the Cuncolim Sociedade land.
While assuring the Sociedade managing committee that the government is even willing to collect the fees towards the regularisation of the illegal houses on Sociedade land, the Chief Minister had further urged the Sociedade members to cooperate with the government in extending Mhaje Ghar scheme to the houses on Sociedade land.
