-- Samir Umarye *HISTORY*
The State may be celebrating 50 years of liberation, but residents of Mayem are yet to get freedom from the Portuguese rule. Mayem, a village in Bicholim taluka and about 30 kms from Panjim, is still a victim of the Portuguese rule as people residing there are controlled by the Custodian Act. The village has been declared as ‘Evacuee Property’, on grounds that it is owned by a Portuguese who fled from Goa and settled in Portugal after Goa’s liberation. The controversy surrounding the ‘Evacuee Property’ begins in 1816, when the colonial rulers confiscated virtually the entire village admeasuring 3,773 hectares from the Mayem Communidade. The land was then handed over to Diogo da Costa Ataide Teive with a decree to look after it for three generations. The third generation died in 1929, but the land was not returned to the Portuguese government. “The lease ended in 1929 when the third generation expired with the death of Jose Jaoquim de Noronha,” informed Mayem Bhuvimmochan Samiti President Kashinath Mayekar. Based on the last will of Jose Joaquim de Noronha, the property was handed over to Dom Eurico Wolfango de Silva. “The will was conditional. The conditions imposed by the will by virtue of which Dom Eurico de Wolfango de Silva was bound to permanently reside in Mayem,” said Mayekar. “De Silva was also bound work towards improvement of the village and was prohibited from transferring or mortgaging in any manner any part of the property allotted to him by the virtue of the will,” added Mayekar. It is said that in 1959, Dom Eurico abandoned Mayem and started residing in Porvorim (Serula). Immediately after Goa’s liberation, he left for Portugal before handing over the property to his wife, Ricardina da Silva. At present, Ricardina’s nephew, Anton Pereira, claims to be the legal heir of the property. In 1960-61, there was widespread agitation against the landowners in Goa, including Mayem. In 1962-63, a petition signed by many Mundkars was forwarded to the Government of India, Delhi, reporting that all landowners of Mayem had abandoned their estate and had fled to Portugal. They had requested the government to take charge of the abandoned properties. The matter was referred by the Central government to the Goa administration. The newly formed government seized the entire property of Mayem and Mayem Evacuee Property and proceeded to enact the Goa Daman, and Diu Evacuee Property Administration Act 6 of 1964. Since then, people from Mayem have no rights to the land and are confined to the Custodian Act. *HARDSHIPS FACED BY THE PEOPLE* Datta Narayan Lamgaonkar (81) from Bhavkai-Mayem, who lives on the custodian land in Mayem, has every reason to be a troubled man at a ripe age. He has a big family of seven members. While one daughter is yet to be married, three sons are unemployed. Besides, there are several cases against him in the court for extending his house without the permission of the custodian. “Being here in Mayem, we are unable to get basic facilities and cannot even extend or repair our houses,” rues Datta. “If we undertake even a minor activity, we get a notice from the custodian and despite residing here for generations, we are still slaves,” Lamgaonkar said. Despite suffering from asthma for some time, Datta has been fighting cases against him since the last 15 years in connection with the illegal house he built on custodian land. “I have spent huge amounts of money to fight the case. With that money, I could easily have constructed a terraced house. Many a times, I have felt like running away from this village, but there is no other option and neither the government is listening to our demands,” he said. Commenting on the situation in the village, Datta says: “There are several problems in the village. I have no toilet facility nor can I construct a shed in front of my house as I will soon get a notice if anything is done,” added Datta. Shankar Hadfadkar, another aged person from the village, expressed similar opinion. “If someone wants electricity or water connection, then they cannot easily get it from the custodian,” said Hadfadkar. Similar is the case with Narsiha S Chodankar, who claims that it is very difficult to live in Mayem, due to the problem of the custodian property. “We have not come from some foreign countries, but are staying here since generations and despite all this, the government is not bothered about us,” lamented Chodankar (65). “The chief minister says that he is all for the common people. Do we not fall under his criteria of common people? For how many years should we suffer on our own land,” asks Chodankar. *GOVERNMENT’S SILENCE* The Mayem Evacuee Property issue has invariably been a major election issue for all politicians in the area, but not a single government in the past five decades has resolved the matter. Despite various promises from politicians, the issue is still pending and villagers cannot undertake any activity without the consent of the office of the Custodian of Evacuee Property. “Each and every politician assured to solve the problem, but no one really showed any interest in the matter,” said Mayem Bhuvimochan Samiti President Kashinath Mayekar. “Recently, Speaker Pratapsing Rane publicly asked Chief Minister Digambar Kamat to look into the matter and hand over the property back to the farmers. But why was Rane unable to do it when he was the chief minister,” questioned Mayekar. In a recent bid to highlight the issue, Mayem MLA Anant Shet recently threatened to resign if the matter is not resolved by December 19 this year. “How can the government think of celebrating 50 years of liberation when Mayem is still considered part of Portuguese,” asked MLA Shet. “Now, there is no turning back and we have given the government ultimatum and if the issue is not solved by December 19, I will resign from the post,” warned the MLA. However, despite Shet’s warning, the State government is mum over the issue. *PEOPLE’S RESPONSE* People from Mayem have formed the ‘Bhuvimochan Nagrik Kruti Samiti’ to force the government to hand over the Custodian property in Mayem to the locals. According to the Samiti President Kashinath Mayekar, they have put forth three demands with the government. “The first and most important demand is to abolish the Custodian Act and hand over the land to the farmers. Our Samiti was in existence since liberation and we got it registered in 2009, so that we could put forward our demands in the right direction,” said Mayekar. The Samiti recently went house-to-house and created awareness among the people about the custodian problem and had also organized a ‘dharna’ in Bicholim. Several organizations, politicians and social workers took active part in the protest and expressed support for the cause. The villagers have now decided that they will not allow any politician to enter the village till the problem is solved. “As of now, politicians have just given us assurances and now it is time for them to act or to remain out of the village,” warned Mayekar. The Samiti has warned of large-scale agitation if the State government fails to resolve the issue of Custodian property by December 19. *COMMENTS FROM **ANTON S C PEREIRA * Anton S C Pereira, who claims to be the legal heir of a part of Mayem land, has denied all allegations levied against him. “The issue has been exaggerated by some persons and can be sorted out amicably. I don’t want to hurt the people and I request the media not to publish half-baked stories as I’m not trying to hide anything,” requested Pereira. “People from Bhavkal, Kelbaiwada or Vaiginim have no problem with me or the custodian. It seems only the people from Sawatwada are making an issue,” claimed Pereira. “If you want to know the real picture, you should personally contact people from these areas,” he said. Asked if he is the legal heir of Mayem, Pereira said the entire issue has been confused. “I claim I’m the heir of a part of the property and not what they claim. I would respond to all queries once I have all the details and have a word with the lawyer,” added Pereira.
