PANAJI
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has refuted allegations that the bill to regularise unauthorised houses built before February 28, 2014, on comunidade land will benefit non-Goans or migrants.
“In most parts of Goa, these unauthorised structures belong to niz goemkars, except in a few areas where the share ranges from 75-98 per cent. The government aims to help Goans who need a roof over their heads. Most houses on comunidade land belong entirely to Goans and this will also particularly benefit the Bahujan Samaj,” BJP State president Damu Naik said at a press conference held in the party head office on Saturday.
The bill, introduced by Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserrate, triggered uproar in the Legislative Assembly this week as the opposition questioned the government’s authority to compel a private body to hand over comunidade land to encroachers.
While the government maintained that the amendment seeks to protect comunidade land from further encroachment and enable their reclamation, the opposition alleged it would legitimise encroachments by migrant workers. A peaceful protest was also held outside the assembly by these legislators.
Meanwhile, Naik hailed the Pramod Sawant government for passing “people-centric” reforms during the 15-day Assembly session, citing support for daily wage government workers besides the regularisation of houses under the ‘Mhaje Ghar’ scheme ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi.
The BJP further announced that Goa’s ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign will begin on Sunday, featuring Tiranga Yatras from August 10-12, a Shahid Pratima Swachhata Abhiyan on August 12 and 14, and Vibhajan Vibhishika Smriti Diwas on August 14. Naik urged citizens to hoist the Tricolour at their homes from August 13-15.
