PANAJI
Multiple bills governing land issues, including the legislation which seeks to restrict transfer of agricultural land holdings to non-agriculturists, were introduced in the Goa legislative assembly on Tuesday.
Revenue Minister, Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate introduced The Goa Restriction on Transfer of Agricultural Land Bill, 2023, which imposes restrictions on transfer of certain agricultural lands to preserve current paddy cultivations. The bill makes some exceptions like transfer in case of inheritance or in case of individuals who being a non-agriculturist but intends to take up cultivation as a profession, provided it is done within the first three years of the transfer.
Another bill introduced by Monserrate seeks to amend the 1961 legislative diploma related to the Code of Comunidades which besides tweaking the election and eligibility laws of the Comundiade managing committees, also inserts a provision which permits leasing of the body's land to State government departments for public projects.
Monserrate also introduced yet another piece of legislation -- The Goa Regularisation of Unauthorised Construction (Amendment) Bill, 2023 -- which amends the law passed in the last session to eliminate the need of getting consent of co-heirs to seek regularisation of construction where the property is divided/allotted between co-owners or families by a court decree or registered instrument/deed.
It also disallows regularisation of constructions in cases where the land title or ownership is pending before a court in dispute.
A fourth bill introduced was by TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane -- the Goa Town and Country Planning (Second Amendment) Act, 2023 -- which seeks to amend the principal TCP Act of 1974 so as to prevent misuse of the exemption from obtaining no-objection for sub-division in inherited properties.
PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral introduced the Goa Highways Law (Revival of Operation, Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2023, which seeks to revive an old repealed law to simplify land acquisition for roads but retains compensation to be paid to owners as per the Central Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
