PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday distributed house sanads, title documents, and class certificates to 1000 eligible beneficiaries from Salcete at the Mhaje Ghar programme held at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao. The documents handed over included title deeds under Section 38A, certificates under the 20-Point Programme, regularisation certificates, and sanads for pre-1972 structures.
Addressing the gathering, Sawant said the initiative is aimed at resolving long-pending housing documentation issues across multiple categories of properties, while also addressing what he called “widespread misconceptions” about the scheme.
“There is a lot of confusion. Some people asked whether this scheme is meant to regularise the houses of migrants. Let me say clearly, this is not that,” he said.
He clarified that the scheme primarily covers houses built before 1972 and is intended for original Goan families who lack formal documentation. “The Mhaje Ghar scheme is for houses built before 1972. Whose houses were these before 1972? They belong to the original Goans,” he said.
Sawant also addressed misconceptions around legality, stressing that the government is not legitimising unlawful activity. “We are not making illegal houses legal; we are making irregular houses regular. There is a difference between illegal and irregular,” he said.
He further said the framework also includes houses on Comunidade land, noting that these cases will be regularised through a structured mechanism involving payment of applicable charges.
“Even for houses on Comunidade land, we are doing this. We are not saying give the land for free. We will collect the money as per the rates and pass it on to the Comunidade. The government will collect it and give it to you,” he said.
Referring to earlier housing allocations under government programmes, Sawant said many families now face legal complications due to informal transfers and missing documentation. “If matters are tangled in High Court cases and they say ‘demolish the house’, should the house be regularised or not?” he asked.
The Chief Minister said the scheme also covers rehabilitation cases, including displaced families and those resettled due to development projects, as well as beneficiaries of earlier housing boards and government land allotments.
“Entire villages were moved and settled elsewhere. Wasn’t it the responsibility of the government then to give them the documents?” he said, adding that sanads are now being issued to such families.
He said the initiative also addresses residential structures built on owned land without complete permissions due to procedural delays. “The land is theirs, the house is theirs; to legalise this, this scheme is brought,” he said.
On housing on government and Comunidade land, Sawant said regularisation will follow a structured process with applicable fees, rather than free allocation. “We are not doing anything for free. We will collect the required charges and regularise the houses,” he said.
He added that beneficiaries are being charged nominal fees for documentation. “For a pre-1974 house, you pay just Rs 1,000 to the Deputy Collector and Rs 1,000 to the Panchayat. For just Rs 2,000, it becomes yours permanently,” he said.
He also said revenue officers have been directed to ensure faster processing of applications and certificates. “We have instructed that house repair certificates or bifurcation certificates must be issued within three days,” he said, adding that Deputy Collectors and Mamlatdars have been asked to resolve pending issues without delay.
Sawant urged citizens to apply under the scheme, assuring faster processing of related certificates. “The goal is to resolve the basic issues of my common Goan that have been pending for the last 60 years,” he said.
