BY AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
Eight gaonkars of the Comunidade of Anjuna have filed a petition in the High Court of Bombay in Goa after obtaining verified documents that 6,73,480 square metres of comunidade land around the Miraculous Cross is set to be usurped through fraudulent means.
The Miraculous Cross in Anjuna, venerated by people of all religions in Goa, is surrounded by a forest that overlooks the sea and mountains adjoining it.
According to the petition filed by the gaonkars, the forest and land around the cross are being eyed by developers from India.
The petitioners want that the comunidade land be preserved from being illegally alienated and to save the comunidade from pecuniary loss through fraudulent deals.
‘Over the years, there have been large-scale illegalities in allotting comunidade land without the authority of law, forged documents, fraud in allotment of plots belonging to comunidade,’ reads the petition to the High Court.
The petition highlights the property fraud committed on ‘survey No 496/1 that is agricultural property consisting of acacia plantations along with fruit-bearing trees and timber yielding forestry trees’.
‘Respondents Yeshwant M Sawant and Minakshi Y Sawant have fraudulently sold the said land to Devender Singh, Satyawati Singh, Yoginder Singh and Sujata Phoughat, without possessing any title to it and without obtaining any approval of the comunidade as mandated by the Code of Comunidade 1961,’ reads the petition.
The petition, which is based on documents obtained from various RTIs by the petitioners and was accessed by GT Digital, lists how in the case of the inalienable land of the Comunidade of Anjuna, orders were passed by various government authorities to ultimately favour a real estate group outside Goa.
‘It is nice that some gaonkars from the Anjuna comunidade have got together and decided to challenge these malpractices in the High Court. The High Court and the Supreme Court seem to be our last resort now with the government, too, turning a blind eye,’ stated Steven Coutinho, a gaonkar of the Mapusa comunidade.
The petition before the High Court, among other things, appeals for quashing or setting aside the sale deed dated 16/10/2019, executed by Yeshwant M Sawant and Minakshi Y Sawant, in favour of Devender Singh, Satyawati Singh, Yoginder Singh and Sujata Phoughat – respondents 14 to 17 – before the sub-registrar of Mapusa and directs the sub-registrar to cancel the same.
The petition further says ‘refrain from granting any permissions or approvals for subdivision/construction/conversion with regards to the land bearing Survey No 496/1 and 496/1- A’.
‘For interim relief, thereby restraining respondents 14 to 17 from creating any third party rights in the land bearing survey nos 496/1 and 496/1-A of village Anjuna, pending the hearing and final disposal of this petition’ concludes the petition.
‘With the government recently stating that it plans to amend articles of the Goa Legislative Diploma, it is good that the gaonkars of Anjuna have gone to the High Court. Their case may be different but can have a bearing on the government’s outlook towards comunidades in the long run,’ stated Oscar Chagas Silva, the spokesperson of Comunidade Awareness Fellowship (CAF), a group trying to spread awareness on the state of comunidades today.
‘Obviously, we are not going to let the government steamroll over the institution of comunidade, though the chief minister has stated in a section of the press that the consent of the comunidade will be taken before acquiring any land,’ detailed Chagas Silva.
‘Gaonkars from all over Goa have been meeting under the umbrella of Comunidade Awareness Fellowship for about a year now, and I expect a united approach. It is too early to jump to conclusions because a bill goes through many stages, and we are just at the first stage,’ stated Bosco Jose Pires de Sa, the attorney of the Moira comunidade.
The eight gaonkars of Anjuna comunidade have set the ball for justice rolling by moving to the High Court of Bombay in Goa, and the decision could well align the road of the future of comunidades in Goa.