AAP mulls legal action over changes to comunidade law

Panaji: Dismayed by the government’s move to pass the amendment to the comunidade code, the AAP plans to write to Goa governor P S Sreedharan Pillai, expressing concerns about the impact of the legislation.
The AAP also intends to examine the possibility of challenging the Goa Legislative Diploma No. 2070 Dated 15-4-1961 (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which claims to streamline the election of comunidades’ managing committees.
“Despite the objections of the opposition, the government did not listen and went ahead and passed bills, particularly the amendment to the comunidade code,” said AAP legislator Venzy Viegas. “All the comunidades are going to sit down and understand how we have to represent the matter in court.”
Viegas said that the government failed to hold deliberations with comunidade members. He said it also ignored the fact that the Comunidade Convention, which has been convened under Article 652 of the Code of Comunidades, is still in session and has not concluded its proceedings which began four years ago.
The bill passed by the government aims to facilitate the development of comunidade lands by private agencies and to regulate the process of grant of land by comunidades. The bill gives powers to the government to suspend a comunidade and appoint government officials.
“We have to analyze this and if options are open, we will go to court. We will hand over our written objections to the governor and the speaker,” Viegas said.