MARGAO
In an interesting development, the revenue authorities in Salcete and Mormugao are bracing up to identify vacant land belonging to defunct comunidades in the two talukas in order to create repository of such properties.
Components of comunidade bodies, however, see red over the proposed survey, as they demanded to know who has declared some of the comunidades defunct and why and for whom is the repository of the land being created by the authorities.
Notices have been issued to as many as seven comunidade bodies, five in Salcete and two in Mormugao talukas. Joint Mamlatdars of Salcete and Mormugao talukas have constituted a team of officials comprising of talathis, comunidade escrivaos, besides field officers attached to the taluka mamlatdars.
A glance at the memorandum issued by the Joint Mamlatdars have revealed that the South Goa District Collector had in September issued a memorandum to the deputy Collectors a team comprising of Joint Mamlatdars, talathis of the local area in question, besides representative of the Administrator of Comunidades and the Field Officer with a brief to identify and submit a report on vacant land belonging to the defunct comunidades in order to create a repository of such properties.
The Collector had also directed the Escrivao of the respective comunidades to assist the team in identifying vacant comunidade land belonging to the defunct comunidades.
The exercise, however, comes under the close scrutiny of the components of comunidades. Margao Comunidade President Savio Correia has questioned the exercise initiated by the South Goa district Collector. He raised a host of questions over the exercise, demanding to know who has declared the seven comunidade bodies in Salcete and Mormugao defunct. “We components would like to know who has declared the seven comunidade bodies as defunct. Did the authorities comply with the laid down procedure before declaring these five bodies defunct,” Correia demanded to know.
He added: “The question of defunct comunidade bodies assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of the fact that the government had given two different set of replies on the Floor of the House on questions pertaining to defunct comunidade bodies.”
That’s not all. Correia wondered why the comunidade bodies were not taken into confidence on the contentious issue of identification of the so called defunct bodies to create repository of properties. “Questions would arise why this repository of properties and for whom and who will eventually take over these repository of properties,” Correia questioned, while demanding that the authorities take the comunidade bodies into confidence before undertaking the exercise.
