PANAJI
The State government on Friday notified the appointment of a Commission under retired Justice V K Jadhav to inquire into FIRs and complaints pertaining to the land grab and illegal transfer of land in the State.
The one-man commission is assigned with the task to inquire into and fix responsibilities, finding out loopholes in the administrative system and legal framework if any, probing the involvement of government officers, and recommending changes in the law to prevent such illegalities in the future.
“As per order dated June 15, 2022, the Government of Goa constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate and inquire into various complaints/FIRs regarding illegal land transfer/land grabbing by way of forged documents. In the course of the investigation … widespread cases of illegal land transfer/land fraud have been unearthed by the SIT. As the said cases are of public importance, the Government is of the opinion that it is necessary to appoint a Commission for the purpose of making inquiry into the said cases,” reads the notification issued by the Home Department on Friday.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had recently informed the media that the commission formed under the retired Justice for the purpose will submit its report/recommendation to the government within four months from the date of its first sitting.
Until about 10 days back, SIT began an investigation into 40 cases of land grabs, and of 93 properties owners of 26 have been identified. The SIT arrested 16 persons so far including two re-arrests.
