PANAJI: Goa’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced on Wednesday that the state government will introduce amendments to existing laws and propose a new act aimed at preventing land grabs during the monsoon session of the state legislative assembly. This move follows the recommendations of a one-man commission that has been investigating these illegal activities.
“Based on the recommendations, amendments will be introduced during the assembly session, and new bills will be tabled. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) handling land grab cases has begun filing chargesheets in some cases, while the remaining cases will be forwarded to the courts for a decision,” stated Sawant. The SIT has registered over 100 cases of land grabbing. “Cases involving landowners who have submitted claims to their property will be adjudicated in court. Land that is deemed to have no clear ownership will revert to the state government,” the Chief Minister added. Over the past 16 months, the SIT has received more than 600 petitions regarding land grabs, with over 450 cases already resolved.
Out of the total 51 FIRs registered by the SIT, it is investigating 41 cases internally, while the remaining cases have either been transferred to the relevant police stations or have had closure reports filed. Prior to the establishment of the SIT, Goa police data indicated that 128 land scam cases had been registered in the state over the past decade. Over half of these cases—73—were concentrated in the Porvorim/Socorro and Mapusa areas within the Bardez taluka. Typically, land grabbers identify properties, create fake ownership documents, and sell the property to an accomplice before finally selling it to a third party. The state government has accepted the report from the one-person commission, led by retired justice V K Jadhav, which advocates for the enactment of a law to prohibit and penalise such illegal activities. The commission recommends that Goa implement laws similar to those in Assam, Gujarat, and Karnataka to combat land grabbing.
The commission’s report suggests that unclaimed land should be taken over by the state, and original property owners should be reinstated as the rightful owners of the land that was wrongfully taken from them. Additionally, the commission recommends conducting scientific investigations into cases where forged notarial deeds of sale have been inserted into the records of the Department of Archives and Archaeology and the Civil Registrar/Sub-Registrar. The proposed legal framework is expected to provide a robust mechanism to deter land grabbing and protect legitimate property rights. By addressing these illegal activities, the state aims to restore confidence in property ownership and uphold the rule of law. As the monsoon session approaches, all eyes will be on the legislative assembly to see how these crucial amendments and new laws will be shaped to tackle one of the most pressing issues facing the state.
