Move to regularise structures sparks comunidades’ fury

Panaji: Multiple comunidades under the group, All-Goa Comunidade Management Committees, came together on Wednesday to oppose govt’s move to regularise constructions on comunidade lands.“There are some lands even in the comunidade of Assagao where there are 100-sqm illegal constructions on one lakh sqm of land. If govt regularises such a 100sqm structure, what will happen to the other part of the land? Assagao will not be able to use such land because it will open the doors to more and more illegal constructions there,” Assagao comunidade attorney, Nelson Fernandes, said.Officials of the Nachinola, Jua, Keri, Goltim, and Nerul comunidades were some of many who were part of the opposing group under the banner, ‘Save Comunidades, Save Goa’.If govt regularises constructions on such lands, the name of the person behind the smaller illegal construction will be entered on the Form 1&14, and in the future, the comunidade will be at the mercy of such an encroacher when carrying out any work related to that parcel of land, the protesting group said. They said an outsider and non-gaonkar can’t be made a beneficiary of land that is essentially community property.

The bill to legalise structures is set to be tabled in the monsoon session of the assembly that commences on Monday.