In a significant development, the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) and Special Land Acquisition Officer (SLAO), Public Works Department, has begun issuing notices to farmers, tenants and landowners for the disbursement of compensation towards land acquired for the project.
The notices, issued under Section 3E of the National Highways Act, 1956, come almost a year after the Competent Authority announced the award under Section 3G of the Act through an order dated July 28, 2025.
According to the notices, compensation will be paid to persons recorded as occupants, co-occupants, tenants or co-tenants of the acquired land or structures, based on entries in Form I & XIV of the respective survey records.
Beneficiaries have been directed to submit title and ownership documents, bank mandate forms, and details relating to their share or entitlement to facilitate the disbursement of compensation.
The notices further require landowners and occupants to surrender possession of the acquired land within 60 days of receiving the notice. Failure to do so will result in the competent authority taking possession through the Collector of South Goa district, as provided under the National Highways Act.
The land acquisition process for the construction of the new high-level Borim bridge, along with its approach roads and a 5.73-km bypass on National Highway-566, was initiated in 2023 under Section 3A of the National Highways Act.
The project involves the acquisition of approximately 340,253 square metres of land spread across the villages of Bandora, Borim and Quela in Ponda taluka, and Loutolim in Salcete taluka.
The award determining compensation under Section 3G was issued on July 28, 2025. Subsequently, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the land acquiring agency for the project, placed the required compensation amount at the disposal of CALA under the Goa PWD, paving the way for the compensation process to commence.
The latest move indicates that the government is pressing ahead with the infrastructure project, notwithstanding strong objections from Loutolim farmers, who have consistently opposed the acquisition of fertile khazan fields for the proposed bridge alignment.
