MARGAO
As the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records (DSLR) prepares to launch a month-long inquiry under the National Geospatial Knowledge-Based Land Survey of Urban Habitations (NAKSHA) in the revenue villages of Margao and Cuncolim, concerns have surfaced in several quarters over whether the exercise could lead to changes in land records, particularly in cases where landowners were absent during the survey.
Questions have also been raised about the implications for properties where landowners declined to give their consent to the exercise. Sources said there have been numerous instances where property owners were either out of Goa or residing abroad when the survey was conducted. Likewise, several landowners are understood to have withheld their consent, prompting concerns over whether their land records could be affected despite their absence or refusal to participate.
Responding to these apprehensions, Director of Settlement and Land Records Chandrakant Shetkar clarified that the NAKSHA exercise is only a pilot project and that the data collected would remain in isolation from the existing land survey records.
"The NAKSHA exercise is only a pilot project. Until such time as the survey is conducted across the entire State, the data collected will remain in isolation from the original survey records," Shetkar told The Goan.
He further said the Goa government has informed the Central government that the survey would not be carried out in areas where there was strong public opposition.
"This survey is being conducted under the Central government's NAKSHA project. In Goa, the Centre has selected the municipal areas of Panaji, Margao and Cuncolim for the pilot exercise. The Centre may decide to extend the NAKSHA survey to the entire State in future. Until such a comprehensive survey is completed across Goa, the records generated through the pilot project will remain in isolation from the existing land records," Shetkar said.
Local apprehensions
Despite these assurances, apprehensions persist among sections of the public. With land in Goa increasingly commanding premium value and attracting the attention of outside real estate developers, many believe the authorities must proceed with caution to ensure that the survey process is not misused by unscrupulous elements to dispossess original landowners of their ancestral properties.
Several stakeholders have stressed that the government should ensure complete transparency throughout the exercise and safeguard the interests of genuine landowners before any future integration of NAKSHA data with official land records is contemplated.
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'20-second mockery': Group flags legal, procedural flaws
As concerns mount over the “NAKSHA” land survey in the revenue villages of Margao and Cuncolim, citizens have flagged the inquiry, demanding that the government put an immediate halt to the inquiry process.
The Citizens for Democracy has joined the bandwagon, with the citizens' group sending an urgent memorandum to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, calling for an immediate suspension of the ongoing NAKSHA (National Geospatial Knowledge-Based Land Survey of Urban Habitations) inquiry process in the revenue villages of Margao and Cuncolim.
The group has raised serious legal, procedural and constitutional red flags over the implementation of the project, warning that it is causing widespread anxiety and panic among ordinary citizens, particularly the farming community and senior citizens.
In a memorandum signed by former bureaucrat Elvis Gomes on behalf of the organisation, the group slammed the "unscientific and impossible" timelines set by the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records. The public notices require property owners to appear before Inquiry Officers with title documents between July 16, 2026, and August 14, 2026, for the preparation of new "Urban Property Cards."
Calling the inquiry a "20-second mockery", Gomes pointed out that Margao contains approximately 24,482 properties, while Cuncolim has about 18,545 properties. “This totals over 43,000 properties crammed into a mere 30-day window. On a simple mathematical calculation, an Inquiry Officer would have to process 1,434 properties every day, or nearly 180 properties every single hour," said Gomes.
He added: “Assuming a standard eight-hour workday, that allows less than twenty seconds per property. It is humanly and legally impossible for any quasi-judicial authority to verify title deeds, hear objections and record reasoned findings in twenty seconds. This is not a genuine inquiry; it is a reckless administrative formality."
Critical gaps in the exercise
Highlighting critical gaps in the exercise, Gomes said: “The government is invoking Sections 14 and 85 of the Goa Land Revenue Code, 1968. However, Section 14 only applies to lands vesting in the government, and Section 85 deals with non-agricultural tax assessment. Neither section empowers an administrative officer to adjudicate or decide complex private title disputes.
Under the Goa Land Survey of Urban Habitations Rules, 2025, executive inquiry officers are tasked with determining "right, title, and interest" regarding encroachments and easements—powers that traditionally and exclusively belong to competent civil courts.
Goa already has a robust framework of land records, including Form I & XIV, PT Sheets, Chalta records and registered conveyances. The government has utterly failed to clarify the legal standing of the new Urban Property Card if it conflicts with these existing statutory records.
The memorandum stresses that the unjustified burden of this rushed exercise falls squarely on Goa's traditional farming community. Many families hold historical succession and inheritance papers scattered across decades. Forcing elderly citizens and farmers to repeatedly "prove" ownership of lands they have held for generations—especially so soon after intensive electoral roll revisions—amounts to bureaucratic harassment.
The citizens' group has demanded the immediate suspension of the NAKSHA inquiry process in Margao and Cuncolim. It also called for the constitution of a review committee comprising legal experts, members of the Bar, Revenue Department officials and representatives from farming communities and civil society.
The memorandum further sought a clear legal classification regarding the status of the Urban Property Card vis-à-vis existing revenue and judicial records, the appointment of an adequate number of officers with a realistic and fair timeline to ensure that the principles of natural justice are met, and comprehensive public consultation before moving forward with any land record modernisation.
