Vanxim water bodies and paddy fields marked for conversion for starred resort and luxury villas

Here we present the map of Vanxim procured from Investment Promotion Board. The Map and the accompanying table shows detail break up of the paddy fields and water bodies marked for conversion for settlement zone. Table shows break up of 82595 square meters of Vanxim land as per the survey records. The logic is rather strange: Paddy fields when they are not cultivated automatically turns into Orchard! And from orchard it is very easy to convert it into settlement zone! Water bodies are already shown as settlement zone! 

Daylight robbery or thuggery of land though Bamon raj we protest, we condemn. Lets never stop speaking out truth loudly!

We have already exposed corruption in Tenants Association of Vanxim that destroyed agricultural activities and State connivance. 

Ozone claims it owns 141 acres of Vanxim land!

Here we present to you the letter from ozone leisure & resorts pvt. ltd. dated 08 March, 2016 to Water Resources Department where in the company claims it owns around 141 acres of land on Vanxim island purchased from Mahendra Gaunekar! The main cause of such a claim is corruption in the Office of the Goa Archbishop. This corruption coupled with State corruption in Tiswadi Mamlatdar office led to the complete destruction of paddy field of Vanxim. 

We have already exposed corruption in Tenants Association of Vanxim that gave entry to Bamon Gaunekar and he sold Vanxim to ozone leisure & resorts pvt. ltd. Now in order to fortify the Island company has asked for the retaining wall around Vanxim. All this is unacceptable and we continue to oppose and expose. We need your support too.

Mahendra Gaunekar claims he owns 120 acres of Vanxim land!

Here we present to you the letter from Mahendra Gaunekar dated 04 September, 2014 to Water Resources Department where in he claims he owns more than 120 acres of land on Vanxim island. The main cause of such a claim is corruption in the Office of the Goa Archbishop. This corruption coupled with State corruption in Tiswadi Mamlatdar office led to the complete destruction of paddy field of Vanxim. 

We have already exposed corruption in Tenants Association of Vanxim that gave entry to Bamon Gaunekar in to claim ownership of Vanxim island. Now in order to fortify the Island Gaunekar has asked for the retaining wall around Vanxim. All this is unacceptable and we continue to oppose and expose.

Why the Goa Investment Promotion Act, 2014 is dangerous for Goa?

The Goa Investment Promotion Act, 2014 is dangerous law for Goa. The principle underlies this law is undermining of democracy in Goa in toto. Once any area is declared as Investment Promotion Area according to section 7 (3) existing laws in Goa cease to apply. 

These powers includes power of the Municipalities, powers of the Panchayats, powers of the Collector under Land Revenue Code, Powers under the Goa (Regulation of Land Development and Building Construction) Act, Powers of Town and Country Planning Act, Regional Plan, Outline Development Plan, Land use Map and powers of other local laws. No laws can be enforced by local level officers.

According to section 7(4) the cadre of central government known as Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in their capacity as Secretary to the Government for the concerned Department are bestowed with all the powers to accord clearances on terms and conditions and even payment of fees as prescribed under various statutes. Many have still not understood and think that Panchayat secretary in villages are going to be powerful! Never.  

By law they are not required to consult anyone in the world even though verbally we are told that this is not the case. But these verbal assurances has no legal basis. These IAS officers are more powerful than even Members of the Parliament. Only thing (other than Public Pressure) though that can act as deterrent for them is the PMO (Prime Ministers' office that has power over IAS officers. 

Before 1961 affairs of Goa was decided in Lisbon, Portugal. From 1961 to 1987 Goa was Union territory and affairs were decided in Delhi. From 1987 till 2014 it was craze for land in Goa but decision were taken from Goa though High Commands remained in Delhi. From 2014 with this law The Goa Investment Promotion Act, 2014 it is ushering in of the era of slavery of Goa and Goans except Bamon Bhatkars who are busy selling Goa's land which they captured thorough deceits and cheating of mulnivasi Goans.

The Need therefore today is of freedom struggle. This law is a symbol of slavery. Bamons after taking control over Indian administration are extending their hold over Goa through backdoor. 

What does this law the Goa Investment Promotion Act, 2014 means for Vanxim?

1. Gram Sabha and its power is now a history. Public is treated with complete contempt. Typical colonial attitude in law.

2. Decision of Gram Panchayat is irrelevant. What the elected members decide is fit to be permanently in dustbin.

3. Decision of the local MLA is non- consequential.  Irrespective of who the local MLA is he/she is non entity in decision making of Vanxim or any Investment Promotion Area. 

4. Zilla Parishad member is useless and has no role at all to decide the affairs of any area that comes under Investment Promotion Area.

5. B.D.O. that is Block Development Officer has no power over what is to happen in any Investment Promotion Area in Goa.

5. Mamlatdar is toothless and so is his higher officers. 

6. Deputy Collector is without power.

7. Collector loses all the powers. Land Revenue Code is not applicable at all. Secretary (Revenue) toakes 

Corporates are expected to pay their haftas no longer to lower level officers but will henceforth concentrate at highest offices of power and its proxies. With the centralization of power also will come centralization of corruption. When corruption is centralized entire administration and polity is destined to be corrupted.

This is a shameful deed of the Bamon Raj though BJP and we are vigilant about this. There is spree of clearances of the projects in the State of Goa and how much the ruling parties have received in kickbacks is anyone's guess. The figures are definitely astronomical figures.

Bharat Mukti Morcha calls for the repeal of this the Goa Investment Promotion Act, 2014 with immediate effect. Along with this there is an urgent need to include Political Parties under the purview of the Right to Information Act 2005. Otherwise Goa is turning into colony of New Delhi being sold rapidly for corporate greed. Bharat Mukti Morcha stands totally and completely opposed to this law.

Additionally Office of the Archbishop of Goa is party to this ongoing corruption over Vanxim as well as Investment Promotion Board (IPB). Their office is answerable not only to catholics of Goa but to all the people of Goa.

Fr.Victor Rodrigues letter on Vanxim scam to Mahendra Gaunekar

This is a scanned copy of the letter dated November 10, 2009 of the then Procurator of the Archdiocese of Goa in 2009 Fr. Victor Rodrigues writing to Mahendra Gaunekar that Vanxim is sold. This letter was asked by delegation from Ilha de Vanxim Association on December 01, 2010 to be revoked. Archbishop simply said to Fr. Victor Rodrigues "Don't write letters like this next time." On further insistence by Maggie Silveira to revoke this letter as it serves as basis for cases filed by Mahendra Gaunekar against Tenants in Vanxim, Archbishop Ferrao flatly refused and said it is too late.

Also note the address of Mahendra Gaunekar that was hidden in Agreement to Sale as well as in Sale Deed. His address is : D2, Mount Unique, Opp. A.I.R, Altinho, Panaji - Goa. Pin - 403 001. 

This letter also is a symbol of arrogance and corruption at the highest level in the Archdiocese of Goa, and since it has remained unshackled it is spreading like a cancer far and wide gradually but certainly. Bishop's house has been turned into house of Business; selling land all over. Vanxim is just one example. Situation is truly challenging and we need all your good wishes and prayers for solution to arrive for turning Vanxim back into fertile agriculture. Together we will make it!

Vanxim land scam documents kept secret by the office of Goa Archbishop

“The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine, for you are strangers and sojourners with me” (Lev 25: 23)                               

Pope Francis in Laudato Sí, Para 67

List of highly manipulated Vanxim sale documents that Goa Archbishop has kept hidden from Public

1.      Document of transfer of Vanxim to Santa Monica Convent, Old Goa

2.      Document of Obligations or weight or Pessao (which means natural justice) for transferring Vanxim to Santa Monica

3.      Document of transfer of Vanxim from Santa Monica convent to Archbishop of Goa

4.      Document of Santa Monica that states that Vanxim be sold in order to pay for Santa Monica convent’s maintenance.

5.      Document containing letters to Archbishop’s team from companies and individuals seeking to buy Vanxim Island since 1992.

6.      Letters from Tenant Association of Vanxim recommending sale of Vanxim Paddy fields.

7.      MoUs signed by tenants with Mahendra Gaunekar over sale of Vanxim Paddy field in possession of the Archbishop.

8.      Letters from Goa Archbishop’s team sent to the Holy See seeking permission to sell Vanxim Island to Mahendra Gaunekar as per Canon 1291 (how was it presented to Vatican? Was it stated that Island of Vanxim is being sold for Golf Course, private marinas, casinos, luxury villas, 5 star hotel, helipad, recreational club etc?

9.      Letter from the Holy See received in 1997 granting permission to sell Vanxim (vide letter Prot.  No. 1466/97 dated 08/04/1997).

10.  All the reports as per Canon 1292. They are the consent reports and minutes from the financial council of the Goa Diocese and the College of Consultors and the experts that gave their advice to sell Vanxim.

11.  The names of those who signed consent report.

12.  Names of those who constituted Financial Council that took decision to sell Vanxim.

13.  Names of those who constituted College of Consultors and expert who advised sale of Vanxim Island.

14.  Names of Competent and knowledgeable individuals who advised that entire Vanxim Island be sold instead of portion of it.

These documents must be made public by the office of the Archbishop of Goa.

List of Vanxim tenants as per Goa Government 1974 records

There are several requests to know the names of Tenants of Vanxim from Activists and Researchers. We are thankful for the overwhelming public interest in Vanxim affairs involving Church and the State. We are making this list of Vanxim tenants public in order for you to have better understanding of ground reality in Vanxim. This letter from the office of the Mamlatdar of Tiswadi Taluka, Panjim  dated 2nd May 1974 claims Vanxim Paddy fields as Government Land. When did these paddy fields turned into Santa Monica land for One Archbishop Gonsalves to Agree to sell to Gaunekar in 1999 and another Archbishop Ferrao to actually sell it to Gaunekar in 2006? There is a need for high level investigations on this issue.

In this document there are 60 names. These names are mixed from Vanxim and from Naroa in Bicholim. Due to vastness of paddy fields People of Vanxim in 1950s and 1960s involved People of Naroa in Bicholim to cultivate the Paddy fields while Portuguese still ruled Goa. However after the tenancy laws were passed by Indian Government those people from Naroa who were involved by Vanxim people to cultivate were listed as separate cultivators. There are nearly 30 people on this list that are from Naroa village and 30 from Vanxim who are original cultivators. That amounts to 60. Paper makes two names difficult to read. No. 32: Tukaram Sonoo Naik and No. 33: Krishna Narayan Padelkar. The rest of names are clear.

Currently there is corporate rage to erase these names from the land records and erase agriculture all together. These documents are made public for the purpose of those who seek to use memory to shape future with solid foundation of our past.

Documents of Vanxim Tenants Association uploaded with comments on corruption

The statement of the Archdiocese of Goa of January 02, 2016 claims that Vanxim Tenants Association has given them the N.O.C. to sell Vanxim Paddy fields. Yet Church Authorities has maintained stoic silence over the identity of the person who signed this N.O.C on behalf of the Vanxim Tenants Association. We publish here documents of Vanxim Tenants Association affairs of 1980s and 1990s when corruption and nepotism took grip in the Vanxim Tenants Association. This documentation is accessed in order to bring to light truth about Vanxim Tenants Association functioning and review validity of so-called N.O.C. granted to sell Vanxim. 

The investigations into the affairs of Vanxim Tenants Association was carried on by its ex-chairman late L. F. Silveira, a legendary personality from Vanxim and father of BMM current Goa State President Maggie Silveira. He was personal witness to the serpent of corruption with corporate and state nexus that dramatically  stopped cultivation of Paddy fields in Vanxim. He was extremely brave and forthright person and has named the person and outlined the corrupt manners in which Paddy fields of Vanxim were flooded in a letter addressed to Mamlatdar of Tiswadi on 17/4/1995. State Government administration is held responsible for this. 

L.F. Silveira was the Chairman of the Vanxim Tenants Association from 1976 to 1984. After him the New Chairman and the new committee took over. New Chairman Narayan Janu Bhonsle betrayed Vanxim Paddy fields and rendered uncultivable by his sabotaging actions of irresponsible handling of accounts, refusal to hand over charge to the new committee and new chairman - Chandrakant Tari after Bhonsle's tenure got over and functioned illegally with illegal body formed with people from Bicholim Taluka. All this is clearly visible from the below documents letter from the Treasurer to the Chairman dated 16/5/1985, Show cause notice issued by Mamlatdar of Tiswadi on 29/6/1993 and reply from Tenants Association of Vanxim Chairman Chandrakant Tari dated 12/7/1993 exposing Narayan Janu Bhonsle for the mess in Vanxim agriculture.

From whom did Archbishop's house might have obtained N.O.C on behalf of Tenants Association of Vanxim? Locus standi of the one who granted N.O.C to sell Vanxim must be examined.

The current trend on Vanxim case is the Church is not willing to share any documents to People of Vanxim and expects that the protest on Vanxim will not last more than a week. This is sad reality unfortunately. This practice followed by the office of the Archbishop does not stand moral scrutiny. Archbishop Neri has already admitted that the sale of Vanxim was morally wrong. From these documents it is clear that permission to sell  Vanxim that Archbishop Raul Gonsalves granted is also morally objectionable and legally fraud. We Protest.

Narayan Janu Bhonsle is a point man of corporates in order to destroy and end Paddy field cultivation in Vanxim and till date continuously hob-nobs with corporate sharks.  It is most likely that this very person has given N.O.C to the Office of the Archbishop to Sell Vanxim and that's the reason there is non-disclosure of this N.O.C to public but widely cited in Church propaganda to justify its decision to sell Vanxim. If this not the case then Church must make these documents public without any further delay. Agriculture must resume in Vanxim soon and tenants be restored their full rights.

Vanxim Agreement of Sale of 1999 text and comments

1. Agreement of Sale carried on 09.04.1999 between Fr. Victor Rodrigues and Mahendra Gaunekar

2. Land composition is in two clusters: 1,85,125 square meters and 3,00,225 square meters. Total 4,85,350 square meters

3. The then Patriarch of East Indies Archbishop Raul Nicolau Gonsalves gave Power of attorney on 30.06.1994 to Fr. Victor Rodrigues appointing him as attorney with powers to enter into this agreement, to execute necessary deeds etc. Did Archbishop Gonsalves consult Vanxim people before authorising Fr. Victor Rodrigues to sell Vanxim? If yes then why the records are not made public?

4. Rates fixed as Rs. 20/- and Rs. 6/- per square meters. 

5. Gaunekar will be responsible to clear tenants from Paddy fields. If Gaunekar fails then Church will not be responsible. Church is very clearly not in defence of Vanxim People as per logic of this document.

6. Total amount to be paid to Church is Rs. 55,03,850/-

7. Advanced paid to the Church is Rs. 4,02,500/-

8. Fr.Victor Rodrigues has shown all the Vanxim documents to Gaunekar. Gaunekar is satisfied that Vanxim land has good and marketable title. These documents are not shown to the people of Vanxim. Why these documents are kept secret? Who made Archbishop owner of Vanxim lands? So Vanxim was sold through documents and not through power point presentations. Why People instead of giving documents are shown power point presentations?

9. Gaunkear may nominate any individual, company, partnership to buy Vanxim. Archbishop will oblige. So Church was aware of the corporate involvement yet went ahead with Sale of Vanxim. Criminal activity, sinful activity of the Office of the Archbishop.

10. Agreed to sell Vanxim land that is not registered in land registrar office nor in revenue office bearing Old cadastral survey number 1 and has Mandovi River as boundary on East, West, North and South. Does this means entire Island?

11. Expert view suggests that signature of the Church witness Ayres Sequeira is forged in Agreement to Sale. His signature does not match with signature on Sale deed. Criminal investigation needed against those responsible.

12. Mahendra Gaunekar's Panjim address kept hidden in this document. It is simply stated that Gaunekar hails from Panjim while Fr. Victor Rodrigues has precise address as Bishop's Palace, Altinho, Panjim. Why Gaunekar's address kept hidden? Is it because he was staying very close to Bishop's Palace and conspiring? This is repeated in Sale deed of 2006 as well. How the Government Authorities did registered Agreement to Sale in Panjim Sub-registrar office without complete address of Mahendra Gaunekar the Vendee? How many more this type of scams carried on in Government offices?

13. Vanxim Agreement of Sale is suspicious due to above reason and needs public debate.