The Chamber of Deputies approved this Tuesday (22) the PEC that transfers free of charge to states and municipalities the navy lands occupied by the public service of these governments and, upon payment, to private occupants. The Proposed Amendment to the Constitution 39/11 will be sent to the Senate.
According to the approved substitute, by deputy Alceu Moreira (MDB-RS), the Union will only keep the unoccupied areas, those covered by federal environmental units and those used by the federal public service, including for the use of concessionaires and permissionaires, as well as for ports, conservation of historical and cultural heritage, among others.
The PEC also provides for the free transfer of marine land where state and municipal services are installed under concession or permission. The transfer will also be free for housing of social interest, such as fishing villages.
According to deputy João Carlos Bacelar Batista (Podes-BA), president of the Tourism Commission and the Mixed Parliamentary Front of the Regulatory Framework for Gaming in Brazil, in addition to a regulation of the gaming sector, there is the possibility of large enterprises arriving in the country. “Of course, some resorts that have casino integration may have interests in these [marine] areas.”
Sources interviewed by CNN believe that this availability of land can attract large enterprises and even foreign investors for tourist constructions with opportunities for profit in leisure and job creation. Coordinator of the Environmentalist Parliamentary Front, deputy Rodrigo Agostinho (PSB-SP) classified the sale of marine areas as absurd. “They want to build casinos on the beaches. There are islands, sandbanks, mangroves and beaches that can be sold.”
The president of the Evangelical Parliamentary Front, deputy Sóstenes Cavalcante (DEM/RJ), who is against the gambling project, stated that he “leaves indications” of the possibility of these navy lands being destined for casinos, even if indirectly.
The text of the rapporteur, deputy Alceu Moreira (MDB-RS), provides that the Union should transfer full ownership of these lands free of charge to states and municipalities or low-income inhabitants (fishermen village, for example). Moreira said that the two proposals “have no relationship.”
Sought, the president of the Chamber deputy Arthur Lira (PP-AL), stated that the subjects (PEC or gaming) are not related. “There is no link to it, the PEC does not treat it that way,” he added.
Owners of 600,000 properties will be able to buy the Federal Government's share in their areas and will be exempt from the forum fee, paid every year, and the payment of the transfer of title. Both yield R$ 1 billion (US$ 197m) annually to the Union. But with this total sale of the areas, it is estimated a return to the public coffers of R$ 140 billion (US$ 27.5bln) in two years.
Currently, marine lands are listed in the Federal Constitution as assets of the Union and are defined by Decree-Law 9,760/46 based on the average high tide line (average of high tides) of 1,831, occupying a strip of land of 33 meters along the along the entire Brazilian coast.
Source: GMB / Agência Câmara de Notícias
