Cuncolkars protest revival of Housing Board project

Goa Housing Board acquired land at Panzorconne-Cuncolim.

MARGAO
Fresh agitation by residents of Cuncolim against the revival of the Goa Housing Board colony at Panzorconne has reopened a can of unanswered questions for the State government and Housing Board officials.

At the heart of the controversy lies a fundamental issue: How has the housing board project resurface when the government had, nearly two decades ago, assured locals that the land had been transferred to the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA)?

The opposition to the housing board colony dates back to the early 2000s. Former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar had ordered the project to be put on hold before his government collapsed in 2005. Subsequently, the Congress-led government under then Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane publicly assured Cuncolkars that the Housing Board colony had been scrapped.

That stand reportedly remained unchanged during the tenure of Chief Minister Digambar Kamat. During this period, then Cuncolim MLA Joaquim Alemao—who later became Urban Development Minister—announced that the Housing Board-acquired land, measuring around 1.26 lakh square metres, had been transferred to GSUDA after the agency paid Rs 5 crore to the Goa Housing Board.

Alemao had even strongly advocated setting up a private football academy on the said land, a proposal that was later abandoned following local opposition.

However, critical questions persist. If the land had indeed been transferred to GSUDA, how did it continue to remain in the possession of the Goa Housing Board? This is particularly significant as the then Chairman of GSUDA had publicly stated that a football academy would come up on the acquired land.

Residents are also questioning whether a formal Cabinet decision was ever taken to transfer the land from the Housing Board to GSUDA for the proposed academy. If yes, how come the land in question continued to remain in possession of the Goa Housing Board so much so the Court directed the Board to hand over the plots to the allottees?

Another key concern is whether the much-publicised transfer of land was ever completed in the absence of a legally concluded transaction between the Goa Housing Board and GSUDA.

Senior Congress leader Altinho Gomes, who was detained by police during the agitation at Panzorconne two decades ago, has demanded transparency from officials of both the Goa Housing Board and GSUDA. Recalling past events, Gomes said that then Urban Development Minister Joaquim Alemao—who was also heading GSUDA—had shown locals a cheque drawn by GSUDA in favour of the Housing Board as consideration for the land transfer.

Gomes has now called for accountability, demanding that bureaucrats who were heading both the Goa Housing Board and GSUDA at the time be identified and questioned. “The people of Cuncolim deserve to know whether the government decision to scrap the housing colony and transfer the land to GSUDA was ever implemented on the ground,” he said.

With the Housing Board project resurfacing after years of assurances to the contrary, the controversy has once again put the government’s past decisions—and their execution—under sharp public scrutiny.

Court verdict raises questions over legality of Housing Board-GSUDA land transfer

MARGAO: Inquiries by The Goan has now revealed that the South Goa District Court had passed an order in 2011 directing the Goa Housing Board (GHB) to hand over plots to four allottees, once again bringing into focus, raising critical questions over the status of land at Panzorcone, Cuncolim.

The significance of the order lies in the apparent contradiction between the court’s directions and assurances given by the government between 2005 and 2012 that the GHB property at Panzorcone had been transferred to the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) for public utility purpose. If such a transfer had indeed taken place, questions arise as to how the South Goa District Court could have directed the GHB, on November 24, 2011, to allot plots to the four allottees.

This has led to speculation over whether the transfer of the acquired land from the GHB to GSUDA ever took place.

In its Judgment and Decree dated November 24, 2011, the South Goa District Court decreed the suit filed by the four allottees and directed the Goa Housing Board to hand over possession of the suit plots—or an equivalent area of 300 square metres—to the plaintiffs from land surveyed under Nos. 146/1, 146/5, and 146/6 of village Cuncolim. The court further ordered the GHB to complete all formalities required under law and to execute the deed of sale in favour of the allottees upon payment of the balance amount as per the allotment letters.

HC upholds order with modification

Challenging the District Court’s judgment dated November 24, 2011, the Goa Housing Board filed an appeal before the High Court. However, in an order dated November 10, 2023, the High Court upheld the District Court’s judgment with certain modifications, ruling in favour of the four allottees.

During the hearing, the GHB informed the court that due to subsequent developments after the final allotment order, the original suit plots were no longer available as the area had allegedly been encroached upon by a third party. Taking this submission into account, the High Court modified the District Court’s order and directed the GHB to allot separate plots to each of the four allottees.

While dismissing the appeals filed by the Goa Housing Board, the High Court also set a time frame for the allotment process and directed the Board to obtain the necessary no-objection certificates (NOCs) from competent authorities, including the local municipal body, before handing over the plots.