Daijiworld Media Network - Margao

Margao, May 14: Despite clear directions from the High Court on March 6 to identify illegal structures on comunidade land, progress across South Goa has been dismal. The number of illegal constructions actually identified and reported to the Office of the Administrator of Comunidades remains murky. Sources suggest that barely 10 comunidade bodies may have submitted any reports so far.

The delay, however, is not due to inaction alone—but a fundamental problem: the absence of qualified surveyors. Attorneys tasked with the identification process have hit a wall trying to engage government surveyors to conduct the necessary land surveys. Repeated requests to the Administrator’s office for surveyor support have gone unanswered.

In the face of this administrative deadlock, some attorneys have taken matters into their own hands. Margao Comunidade, for instance, engaged a private surveyor to begin the identification process. But the high cost of such private services is now burdening local comunidade bodies, many of which lack the resources to fund the surveys independently.

Attorney Celestin Noronha, who heads the comunidades of Aquem, Margao, Verna, Davorlim, and Dicarpale, admitted that there has been virtually no movement in the survey process over the past two months. “We have made repeated attempts to get government surveyors through the Administrator, but there’s been no support,” Noronha said. “Without official assistance, the process is at a complete standstill.”

Though he has managed to engage a private surveyor for Margao, Noronha expressed concern over the cost implications. “Given the scale of the problem, hiring private surveyors is not sustainable. I’ll once again follow up with the Administrator's office for government assistance,” he said.

With the High Court’s deadline looming and little ground covered, the path forward depends largely on whether the government steps in to provide the technical support urgently required to complete the inspections. Until then, the identification of illegal structures on comunidade lands remains a stalled mission.