PANAJI
Former Chief Minister and Poriem MLA Pratapsing Rane on Friday came down strongly on the comunidades and urged the government to rethink its approach to this system of land ownership without attaching any sentiment to reforms.
Speaking on the cut motion moved by the Opposition benches to the demands for grants by Revenue department, Rane stated, "Just because they are old institutions we should not be sentimental. Sentiment means a loss. These old institutions have lived beyond their time. With the land to the tiller and they becoming the owners, the income of the comunidades has reduced totally, except for a few like Serula and others where the value of the land has gone up."
The senior political leader suggested a fresh approach to the issues plaguing the Comunidades.
"There are other areas where people have stopped cultivating and a lot of mangroves are growing. Here something new has to be done because the comunidades and the code of comunidade only gives little tutelage to the government," Rane said while advising the young Revenue Minister.Khaunte, meanwhile, said the government was exploring the possibility of a land bank that would be a single point to keep track of all government lands as well as to allow the government itself to have an idea of which of its lands are available where. "There is nothing of this kind today," Khaunte said.
"We need to link all government lands with the revenue department so we have a land bank and infrastructure bank in one place," Khaunte said.
He pointed to the fact that more than eight lakh square metres of government revenue lands known also Alvara were sold by third parties with the government having no track of it.
