VASCO
In a significant development in Goa’s ongoing row over the regularisation of unauthorised constructions, the Chicalim and Chicolna comunidades on Sunday became the first to publicly extend support to the Goa Regularisation of Unauthorised Construction (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (ROUCAB). The legislation seeks to regularise dwelling houses built on comunidade land before February 28, 2014.
While most comunidades across Goa have opposed the bill and are preparing to challenge it before the Supreme Court, the two South Goa comunidades said the measure would provide much-needed relief to Goans who built homes on comunidade property and also ensure steady revenue for comunidade coffers.
At a joint press conference, Chicolna comunidade president Esther Sankhwalkar said the notification was timely.
“There will be a lot of revenue for comunidades, and land reverted back after implementation will only add to our coffers. We will have more funds, more land, and better dividends for members,” she said.
Sankhwalkar reminded that both Chicalim and Chicolna comunidades had already resolved to regularise such houses even before the government brought the amendment.
“In the past, our general bodies passed resolutions to regularise these houses. We fought hard through demolitions and court cases to remove illegal houses, but in the long run, it did not work. The land remained encroached and yielded no revenue. Nearly 80% of the encroachers are fellow Goans, and the regularisation aligns perfectly with the government’s notification. We welcome it,” she added.
Chicalim comunidade attorney Manuel Dias pointed out that most of the houses were not recent encroachments.
“In Chicalim, many houses have existed for 40-45 years. The bill will regularise those built before 2014, and across Goa there could be 1.5 lakh such houses. These were not built overnight, and present attorneys cannot be held responsible. By regularising them, we can finally generate revenue and raise dividends for members,” he said.
Dias criticised what he termed selective action in the past.
“The order of the administrator of 4/1 was a victimising approach. There are several such houses on comunidade lands elsewhere, yet only those were targeted. These houses existed before 2014 and should now be regularised as per the law. The bill already specifies the criteria that need to be met,” he said.
He also urged the government to empower comunidades directly to prevent fresh encroachments.
“The managing committees should have powers to stop new illegal constructions immediately. This is the most practical demand,” he asserted.
Recalling Chicalim comunidade’s tough past stance, Sankhwalkar said,
“We even carried out demolitions at midnight with police support, without looking at whether the houses belonged to Goans or migrants. But despite years of such action, court cases and high court orders, nothing worked. We reached a saturation point and eventually resolved to accept regularisation. Our general body made it clear: encroachers would be given a certain area at a fixed rate, and for excess land, they must pay market rate with interest. No one was to go scot-free.”
She admitted that legal battles had dragged on for decades without results, despite hiring top lawyers. “That is why our comunidades decided to resolve the issue practically,” she explained.
Survey data shows Chicalim has 700–800 illegal houses while Chicolna has about 30. Sankhwalkar stressed that the decision was also humanitarian.
“This is a one-time approach. I have seen locals, including handicapped persons, living in tiny 150-square-metre homes under miserable conditions. It is easy to talk of migrants or land selling, but the ground reality is different. Many of these are poor Goan families. If we get our revenue and land back, and market rates for excess land, we should not differentiate,” she said.
The decision by the two comunidades is the first sign of support for ROUCAB 2025, even as many other comunidades continue to oppose it and prepare for a legal challenge.
