‘Will oppose changes to comunidade law’

Panaji: The amendments to the Goa Legislative Diploma No 2070 (Amendment Bill), 2023, have evoked criticism from comunidade members. They have alleged that these changes may undermine the autonomy of the age-old bodies and deprive them of their assets.
The Goa legislative assembly recently passed a bill that seeks to make it easier for the government to acquire comunidade land, and suspend managing committees, if needed.
Comunidades have always promoted agriculture and related activities.
“The government, instead making the comunidade a special purpose vehicle to foster and develop the fast-declining agriculture in the state, seems to be engaged in a development strategy much contrary to its utterances on improving agriculture,” said Tulio de Souza, president of the Guirim comunidade and former member of the Comunidade Commission.
Stating that comunidades expect need-based reforms to strengthen these “ancient village agricultural cooperatives” and make them vibrant, de Souza said: “The comunidades will not accept any unilateral acquisitions.”
The lack of transparency has disappointed some of the proponents of the system. “Some amendments give a perception that the government is trying to gain control over comunidades through the backdoor.
“The skies would not have fallen if the bill was taken up for consideration and passing in the next session, which four months away,” said Savio Correia, president of the Comunidade de Margao.
He said that comunidades are private bodies comprising ‘gaunkars’ and shareholders, whose day-to-day affairs are handled by an elected managing committee. “Though they may be under the government’s administrative tutelage, there is no element of government control or direct/indirect funding whatsoever,” sai dCorreia.
As per the convention of comunidades under article 652, the government should have circulated the proposed changes to the comunidades and approved them at the comunidade convention, which has not been held since 2019, said de Souza.