Communidades on Downslide - NT Editorial

Communidades on Downslide Published on: February 8, 2014 - 00:42 More in: Opinion In what is possibly a large scam, about 27 lakh sq mt of communidade land in 11 villages of Ponda taluka have been encroached upon with some people gaining pieces of land as large as 7,000 sq mt, all in the name of housing. In the village of Bandora for instance, 119 people have encroached on 8.67 lakh sq mt, with each one gaining an average of 7,285 sq mt, enough land to construct a mega housing complex. In Priol village 75,289 sq mt was encroached upon by 57 individuals and in Querim 63 people encroached on 49,258 sq mt, with one person gaining 15,000 sq mt. How much of this land has been transferred or sold with the connivance of managing committees of communidades is a question that only a thorough probe will answer. Encroachment on such a large quantum of land is proof that the age-old communidade system is in ruin. The tenancy act which gave tenants partial rights caused damage, and then.panchayati raj further eroded the authority of communidades. Successive governments did little to strengthen communidades. On the contrary efforts to undermine continued. The colonial Code of Communidades was systematically amended to give the government more control over land resources. What remain today are remnants of the system with some die-hards fighting legal battles to save it. Also, the failure of communidades to evolve from a closed system that vested ownership of land with male gaunkars only to gender-neutral vesting contributed to its doom. It is quite possible that the land transferred to new owners was done by tenants who used Form I & IV to claim ownership. It is also possible that sale of land was done in connivance with managing committees which are in possession of land records and documents required to make the sale. In a state where land is valuable it was a matter of time before managing committees and tenants succumbed to the temptation to make a quick buck by selling land. It is unfortunate that large swathes of land have been sold in violation of the code. But there is little we can do about it. When the owners of the land, the gaunkars, themselves connive in the sale, why would anyone else come to the rescue? Even if a spirited gaunkar decides to challenge the sale in court he could end up spending the rest of his life shuttling between lawyers and courts. The sale of Serula communidade land to two senior members of the ruling party is an indication of the pressure to sell. The large-scale sale of communidade land in Ponda has dealt another blow to communidades which lost their utility long ago. Other than the emotional attachment that gaunkars have for the system there appears to be no compelling reason to revive it. Prior to the advent of panchayati raj, communidades were in charge of farming, fishing, maintenance of bunds, sluice gates and all activity pertaining to an agrarian economy. Today communidades, by and large, function as landlords and once all the land is gone they will cease to have any useful purpose. This would mark a sad end to an ancient system which forced the Portuguese into recognizing and accepting it, only to be destroyed by the gaunkars themselves. Proof of the Pudding A directive from the Supreme Court to the Centre to list the governance benefits in the last 15 years by giving a small band of top bureaucrats protection from inquiry in corruption cases has opened up a politically volatile subject, especially at a time when the Centre has little credibility on the issue. In 1997 the court had struck down an administrative order, which barred the CBI from initiating inquiries into corruption charges against joint secretaries and officials above them without prior consent of the Centre, as illegal. The same was made law through the legislative route. The argument of the government and political class was that bureaucrats involved in policy decisions need to be protected from frivolous litigation or else bold decision would never be made as all would prefer to play it safe. The argument has merit, especially if one considers the manner in which allegations fly in this country. Bureaucrats are known to hide behind a wall of rules, regulations and paperwork. They always play it safe. If they are left out in the open with all and sundry leveling charges against them, they would prefer to sit on the fence or oppose everything. At the time of enacting the law this was a theory. Now the court has demanded proof to back this theory. If it has helped then the court hinted that it would like to take judicial notice of it. In other words, the proof of the pudding is in the eating not reading the recipe. http://www.navhindtimes.in/opinion/communidades-downslide