PANAJI
The issue of resolving the grant of definitive title to occupants of 'Alvara' land came up for discussion on Friday after Poriem MLA Deviya Rane raised the matter with Revenue Minister Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate.
There are nearly 1,000 cases of occupants of 'Alvara' land in Sattari alone and Monserrate said, no injustice will be done to them.
“There should be no injustice to Alvara landholders. Their demands need to be considered. There are around 1,000 cases in Poriem and Valpoi constituency pertaining to Alvara land," Monserrate said.
The minister said Collectors, deputy collectors and the mamlatdars have been asked to enquire into these cases and report back to him.
Monserrate said people should get justice quickly in any quasi-judicial matters under the Revenue department.
The issue of resolving title issues of 'Alvara lands' in Goa has been hanging fire since 2018 and the government had done away with the 'sunset clause' setting a time deadline for filing applications.
'Alvara' lands are those which were allotted to cultivators on a long lease basis by the erstwhile Portuguese regime back in 1917. These 'Alvara' lands are sprawled over Sattari, Dharbandora, Pernem and Sanguem talukas.
The government estimates a total of 7,000-odd Alvara land allotments, but only a few hundred applications have been filed before the revenue officials.
Back in 2018, by notifying a rule under the Goa Land Revenue (Disposal of Government Lands) (Ninth Amendment) Rules, the State government had made provision for receiving claims over Alvara land rights.
Collectors were given the powers to accept these applications, verify and submit a report about the claims.
Under these rules, the State government had classified Alvara land occupants into two categories -- Class-I occupants giving them the ownership rights on payment of fees and Class-II occupants getting occupancy rights.
For the class I category, a farmer has to pay 1/20th of the market rate and for Class“II occupant has to pay Rs 5 per square metre.
