MAPUSA
The State government’s much talked about plan to link the Record of Property Rights with Aadhaar – the unique identification number – to prevent land fraud has remained only on paper, even two years after it was announced in the State Budget 2023-24.
The Special Investigating Team (SIT-Land Grab) is handling 47 cases. Of these, 25 FIRs were registered by the SIT itself, while 22 were transferred from different police stations. So far, ten cases have been charge-sheeted, while 32 are still under investigation.
The government had set up a One-Man Commission to look into all cases of land grabbing involving private and other lands in the State. The Commission was also asked to identify the role of government officers, public functionaries, and private individuals. Its report was made public earlier this year.
In his 2023-24 budget speech, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the government’s seriousness in dealing with land fraud was clear from the setting up of the SIT and the appointment of the One-Man Commission.
According to his speech, “CM proposes to link the Record of Rights with the Aadhaar number as a step towards preventing land fraud in the state.” The government had also announced modern Record Rooms for all talukas and mobile apps to identify and locate properties in real time.
However, sources confirmed that most of this is still at the planning stage. “The government has approved digitisation of Notary records and the empanelled agency Info Tech Corporation of Goa Ltd. (ITG) has commenced working on the same,” sources said, adding that, “The government has also set up 12 modern record rooms, five in North and seven in South Goa.”
The plan to link Aadhaar with land records is still pending, sources added.
When contacted, Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserrate said, “Everything will happen. As committed we will ensure that our land records are linked to Aadhaar.”
The Minister also said the government is now considering using blockchain technology for land registration and property verification in the State.
