Death of the commune

However, the pro-industrialisation lobby points out that the land acquisition process in Goa is relatively hassle-free as there are fewer opponents to the acquisition of communidade land as against acquisition of land belonging to individuals. 8220;The Government has no choice but to acquire communidade land as the State doesn8217;t have any land of its own,8221; says a senior governmentofficial.

Surprisingly, neither the State Government nor the ACC is able to provide details of communidade land being turned over to industrialists. However, the government gazette clearly indicates hundreds of acres of communidade land being acquired by the Government every month.

Though the origin of the communidades is unclear, available evidence indicates that these bodies existed even during the 13th and 14th centuries. 8220;The first settlers in Goa 8212; the Gaonkars 8212; who arrived here during medieval times, cleared the land and settled down establishing self-sufficient local bodies to manage village-level administration,8221; says Carmo de Noronha, a former administrator of communidades who has done research into the origins of this concept. The land, he says, was owned by the community as a whole though there was private property.

Rather than take direct responsibility for the cultivation of the land, the communidades auctioned off parcels of land to cultivators whose payments helped finance theactivities of the communidade. As a local self-governing body, the communidade was responsible for providing a network of public roadways, aqueducts for storing rain water, drainage of marshy land, etc. They also maintained temples and financed religious, artistic and educational pursuits within their jurisdiction.

Membership of the Gaunkaris or the communidades was restricted to the descendants of the original Gaunkars and shareholders components. The shareholders who were distinct from the Gaunkars came into the scene during the Mughal rule when the communidades had to borrow money from their ancestors to pay the taxes of the invaders. As per the Code of the Communidades, formally codified by the Portuguese during the 16th century, the shareholders and the Gaunkars comprise the general body while the day-to-day management of the communidade is undertaken by a three-member elected managing committee. The working of the communidades is overseen by the administrators appointed by the government.

Till1964, more than one-third of Goa8217;s 3,021 sq km area comprising paddies, orchards, pastures and wastelands was owned by 223 communidades spread across the state. The thousands of descendants of the original Gaunkars and shareholders, though scattered all over the world, continue to be the beneficiaries of the communidades. However, the code of communidades prohibits the Gaonkars and shareholders from dividing or alienating the common property in any way as a result of which the land in the possession of tenants is also classified as communidade land.

The structure of the communidades was disturbed following the introduction of the Tenancy Act in 1964 under which even leaseholders with permits to pluck fruits for even a single season were given ownership rights overnight. For instance, in the communidade of Chorao, six people acquired 15 lakh sq m of land between them. A similar area of land passed into the hands of eight people in Assangaon communidade. 8220;Such cases can easily be multiplied in all thecommunidades of Goa,8221; says Periera. The body has now issued a public notice asking members of the public not to buy communidade land from erstwhile leaseholders.

Meanwhile, communidades who were left holding only barren land have seen their income drop sharply. For instance, the Chorao communidade saw its income drop from Rs 76,717.16 in 1963 8212; when the last auction was conducted 8212; to Rs 14,000 in 1997-98. The income during the last financial year accrued mainly from bank deposits accumulated in better days.

According to the ACC only 20 to 25 communidades still earn some income by way of interests. Others are paid a pittance when the communidade lands are acquired by the Government. Incidentally, as per the compensation packages formulated by the Government, the communidades are to be paid 40 paise per sq m while the occupant will receive Rs 29.40 per sq m.

Following their loss of land, many componentes have lost interest in the functioning of the communidades. 8220;The componentes are only interestedin Zon8217; of their share of the communidate8217;s profits,8221; says Noronha. As a result, general body meetings of the communidades are held without adequate quorums and unscrupulous managing committees are free to decide in favour of vested interests, says Noronha.

With most communidades on the verge of bankruptcy feeble attempts are now being made to recover their lands. The ACC is examining its legal options in this regard. 8220;The diploma legislative No 2070, dated April 15, 1961, promulgated by the Portuguese shortly before liberation, clearly indicates that the crown had no control over comunidade land,8221; says Periera. The belated recognition by the Portuguese that the communidades are independent entities is providing much legal ammunition to Periera and his team.

He points out that while all the land in British India was the property of the British crown prior to Independence, the Portuguese had recognised the right of the communidades to exist on their own. This, he argues, should be recognised by theGovernment of Goa as well.