Amid oppn protests, govt passes bill to legalise houses on comunidade land

Time of India

3 days ago

Porvorim:
Amidst vociferous protests by the opposition, the state legislative assembly on Thursday passed a bill that paves the way for govt to regularise unauthorised houses constructed before Feb 28, 2014, on comunidade land.
The bill, introduced by revenue minister Atanasio Monserrate, sparked a furore in the state assembly as the opposition questioned govt's legal standing to compel a private entity to hand over comunidade land to encroachers.
The opposition said that the amendment — Goa Legislative Diploma No. 2070 dated April 15, 1961 (Amendment) Bill, 2025 — is nothing but a reintroduction of the Goa Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill in a new garb by BJP.
The opposition MLAs rushed to the well of the House twice to protest against the bill, forcing speaker Ramesh Tawadkar to adjourn the House twice for five minutes each time.
Monserrate said that the amendment aims to provide 'legal security' to 'landless persons' who built houses on land owned by a comunidade. According to the bill, the area eligible for regularisation is the plinth of the dwelling house plus two metres on all sides, subject to a maximum of 300sqm.
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If an application for regularisation is not filed within six months of the notification by govt or is rejected, the administrator of comunidades shall initiate proceedings for the removal of the structure.
Comunidades will have 30 days to decide on the applications.
The one-time measure is a 'humanitarian gesture', said Monserrate, but Aldona MLA Carlos Ferreira demanded a strict approach and demolition of unauthorised structures on comunidade land.
'Over the years, it was observed that a significant number of landless persons who have been residing in Goa for a very long time have constructed dwelling houses on lands belonging to the comunidades without any formal authorisation or legal right,' said the bill.
There are several homes built on comunidade land without legal ownership and permission from authorities. The absence of legal recognition has rendered such occupants vulnerable to eviction, which would deprive them of shelter and basic civic amenities.
Monserrate said that the main objective of the amendment is to also protect comunidade lands from further encroachment and to enable the comunidades to reclaim land that was encroached upon.
'It also seeks to deter future unauthorised construction by clarifying that regularisation is a one-time measure,' said Monserrate.
RGP MLA Viresh Borkar said the regularisation will benefit migrant workers who have encroached on comunidade land.
He said that the bill should have specified that only landless persons of Goan origin would be able to apply for regularisation of houses.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant tried to intervene to quieten the protesting opposition MLAs.
During the uproar, the House also passed the Goa Regularisation of Unauthorised Construction (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which provides a fresh window of two years for individuals to apply to regularise illegal homes and structures in villages and in towns. The structures or homes will be regularised as long as they are within a limit of 500sqm in villages and 600sqm in towns or in the capital city.
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