The Goa Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill, 2021 passed hastily in the recently concluded Assembly session has stoked a major controversy by trying to redefine the ‘son of the Goan soil’. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and a few cabinet ministers including Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho and Tribal Welfare Minister Govind Gaude explained that the Bill provides a mechanism to give ownership rights to the self-occupied units of small dwellings “to enable individuals to live with dignity”.
The Bill qualifies a person who is residing in the State of Goa for at least 30 years to be a son of the soil, no matter which part of the country one belongs to. It also gives Bhumiputra immunity against all laws of the land, meaning he shall not be evicted from the occupied dwelling during the pendency of any proceedings under this Act.
The Bill throws open a host of questions, and the government will have a lot of explaining to do. Leave alone the hurry and timing of passing this Bill, we need to know how the law intended for “mool Goenkar” becomes exclusive to a Goa-born resident. We need answers on how many Goans are likely to benefit from this legislation. We need to know how the law will check migrants illegally housed in ‘bastis’ for decades from being bestowed with supreme right of land and along with it the tag of ‘sons of the soil’.
The government states that the bill overrides other land laws in force, which means legal proceedings cannot be initiated against any of the persons involved in the execution of this process, or the Bhumiputra himself. How does this fit into the existing law, or does this supersede all other land laws in force? Goa has in force the Mundkar Act, Communidade Act, Panchayati Raj Act, Town & Country Planning Act, Land Revenue Code and the Goa Land Development and Building Regulations, 2010. Is the Bhumiputra Adhikarini and Administrative Tribunal supreme over all these laws of the land?
Land disputes are very common in Goa and courts are seized with land ownership cases with caseloads increasing every passing year. According to data, nearly 4,000 tenancy cases are pending disposal as of now and the Goa Agricultural Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 2017 introduced during the Manohar Parrikar regime, primarily aimed to reduced the tenancy case backlog, has not helped much. What is the fate of all these agricultural tenancy cases which are at the disposal stage?
The government has opened Pandora’s box by trying to cash in on the migrant vote-banks, but due to an overlap of interests, an otherwise vocal Opposition has gone silent. This is a real test for those flexing their muscle on Goa’s identity because the legislation strikes at the heart of niz Goemkar. While the government tries to accommodate displaced Goans, it is also going to rehabilitate thousands of migrant settlers. And overnight, original Goan landowners may lose their rights over holdings.
With the kind of impact this legislation is going to have on the State’s landscape, and the political space as well, this piece of legislation certainly requires a thorough debate. Governor Sreedharan Pillai stands a significant test here because this Bill does not have a people’s mandate.
