As per the historical understanding of Avit Bagle, Executive Editor Dainik Herald: “An important function of the Comunidades was to maintain the embankments, which protected the village lands from inundation.
The administration of Comunidades is governed by Legislative Enactment Number 2070 dated March 15, 1961, and is known as the ‘Code of Comunidades’.”
Interestingly, as per the translated version of the “CODE OF COMUNIDADES”, first published in June, 2012 by the Revenue Department, Article 5 provides:
Art. 5 “ The comunidades shall be under the administrative tutelage of the State, in terms established in this Code, and its immovable properties may be granted on emphyteusis and alienated in the manner provided in this Code.
And even though, the statute may appear authoritative and autocratic, the draftsmen of the Code have controlled the repressive tendencies of the State in the same Article 5 and qualified the statute with the procedure for alienation better described in the succeeding articles of the Code.
In clarifying the deficiencies in translation and the pragmatic comparison of the erstwhile Portuguese Civil Code in light of the Indian laws currently applicable, the term “Arrendamento” may be understood in the manner intended by the translator of the Code:
“Under Portuguese Civil Code sale, gift, hypothecation, arrendamento, renting (locatio) were contracts. Therefore renting was known as “arrendar”. Under Indian law though basic foundation of Transfer of Property is a contract, yet the reason best known to the framer of the law, leases, mortgagees have been brought under the umbrella of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 without any valid reason.”
One could understand that in a case of gift or sale there is a conveyance, but it would not be correct to say that in the case of mortgage or lease there is a conveyance. If the translation of chapter V starting from 317 of the Code of Comunidade, 1961, as renting it would have been difficult to explain the position. Therefore for convenience it has been translated as “lease”.
Hence, whether the Loliem-Polem Comunidade may be able to justify the unilateral and despotic transfer of its land called “MadiTadap” which is lying idle on the plateau to the Entertainment Society of Goa to set up the proposed Film City?
Can a justification as opaque and ambiguous as the one provided by the President of the Loliem-Polem Comunidade wherein the members of the Comunidade have supposedly chosen to irresponsibly concede to the ESG in offering up 250 acres of land on a silver platter because the Comunidade is being faced with the likelihood of railway expansion appears to be a smoke screen propelled by governmental forces.
A question which would definitely emanate in the mind of a common man of general prudence is that:
Whether a long term lease of the land even been considered before deciding to directly transfer the land to the ESG without any reservation of interest of the Loliem-Polem Comunidade?
From a bare perusal of the Code of Comunidades, it becomes clearly evident from Article 8 that: “Art. 8 “ The comunidades may request, in terms of law, acquisition of land for public purpose that may be required for irrigation and protection purposes.”
Therefore, the Minutes of the Meeting by virtue of which the presently elected members of the Loliem-Polem Comunidade developed and rationalised the threat to its land MadiTalap while being faced with a probable likelihood of railway expansion without having consulted experts such as land surveyors and civil engineers seems like a very ambitious proposition.
Especially when the availability of Article 8 to the Loliem-Polem Comunidade would provide it with sufficient statutory clout to requisition for surrounding lands in order to preserve and safeguard its existing land by the name of MadiTalap and its existing ecology.
Ecological Issues:
Now in accordance with the observations of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 25047 of 2018 in its Order dated: 25th March, 2021: “The pivotal policy document in India on climate change is the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) formulated by Union Government in 2008, which recognizes that the country is committed to increasing tree cover from 23% to 33%.
Under the Paris Agreement, India has committed itself to Nationally Determined Contributions in 2015, wherein one of the stated objectives is to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.”
In the same Order dated: 25th March, 2021, CJI: S. A. Bobde along with his brother Judges concurred in upholding that: “Article 48-A imposes duty upon the State to endeavour to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife of the Country.”
How then, does the Loliem-Polem Comunidade seemingly appear to be in cahoots with the Entertainment Society in accepting 250 acres of prime forest land which could spell the difference between Ecological Stability of the entire South Goa district and a frivolously ambitious Film City in the midst of Loliem-Polem.
In conclusion, the Caesar-like ambition of leveraging the environmental stability of a given region and its environmental biome in the selfish interests of setting up a Film Industry in a place such as Loliem and Polem which essentially lacks the impetus for talent generation and expressive skill nurturing appears to be a ministerial gaffe attributable to the incumbent of the constituency.
