Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that there is need to bring in reforms and amendments in Communidade code for the benefit of Goans and government projects.
“New reforms must be implemented. Goans must gain from this. This has to help a lot of government projects. Changes and amendments must be proposed for this,” said Sawant while speaking to reporters at the inauguration of Communidade Convention.
He further clarified that the regularization of houses on Communidade land is not aimed at slum regularization but at safeguarding homes constructed by Niz Goemkar.
Sawant emphasized that 70 to 80 per cent of houses on Communidade land belong to Goans, and the objective is to provide them protection.
“I assured that regulations would be developed collaboratively with Communidade bodies and clarified that the law aims to protect Goan houses rather than regularize slums,” he said.
On the other hand, Tulio de Souza, the president of Guirim Comunidade, claimed that changing the code would promote illegal activity because many of the illegal houses on community land are owned by individuals from other States.
Amendments, he claimed, would imply broad approvals for erroneous constructions.
He continued, “Communited lands need to be administered better.” According to him, decisions regarding dwellings on Goans’ communal land can be made through investigation and dialogue with the community.
