PANAJI
Seeking to allay concerns over the implementation of the Centre's National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations (NAKSHA) programme, the Goa government has clarified that no property belonging to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) or absentee landowners will be surveyed without the owner's consent, while also assuring that data collected during the pilot phase will remain separate from existing land records.
Officials of the Department of Settlements and Land Records said the pilot project does not replace existing Form D or Form XIV records and that any data collected will remain in isolation. The records will be integrated only if the Centre decides to expand the programme across Goa after completion of a statewide survey.
"We had appealed to all NRIs and absentee landowners well in advance. Wherever we have not obtained the owner's consent, we will not proceed with the survey. In such cases, Form XIV will not carry any new details until the owner comes forward with the required documents for physical verification," Director Chandrakant Shetkar told The Goan.
The department said the programme contains multiple safeguards to ensure that no property records are finalised without verification by owners and an opportunity to raise objections. It reiterated that the exercise is aimed at creating transparent, tamper-proof urban land records and does not alter ownership rights or affect the rural status of villages.
To facilitate participation of overseas Goans, the government has enabled NRIs to upload property-related documents through digital self-declarations on the State's urban land records portal without travelling to Goa. However, physical verification will be carried out only in the presence of the owner or an authorised representative holding a valid Power of Attorney.
Officials also clarified that before the final Urban Property Card (UrPro) is issued, a draft property card will be published, giving property owners 30 days to verify the details and file objections relating to ownership, boundaries or other property particulars. Any genuine claims or corrections will be examined before the final card is generated.
The clarification follows apprehensions among NRIs and absentee landowners over ownership claims, inheritance issues and fears that unattended properties could be affected during the survey.
Shetkar said the pilot exercise is intended primarily to update outdated land records, noting that the last comprehensive land survey was conducted in 1972. He also said the exercise also provides an opportunity for legal heirs who have not updated ownership records following the death of the original owner. "Instead of first undergoing lengthy mutation and partition proceedings through the courts, they can regularise their ownership during the NAKSHA survey itself by producing the required legal documents," he said.
"This is only a pilot project. The data collected will not replace the original Form D or Form XIV. Only if the Centre decides to extend the scheme across the State after the entire exercise is completed will the new data be brought on record," he said.
The department also addressed concerns over the temporary inclusion of rural villages in the survey. The officials explained that the three municipalities selected for the pilot Panaji, Margao and Cuncolim did not individually meet the Centre's minimum population and geographical area criteria required for aerial mapping.
"These were the municipal areas that came closest to the prescribed criteria. Rural areas were added only to satisfy the technical requirements for aerial surveying and not to convert them into urban areas," Shetkar said.
Following public objections, the rural villages have since been excluded from the urban-specific mapping component, with the government reiterating that the exercise has no bearing on their rural status, municipal limits or land rights.
He added that the Urban Property Card generated under NAKSHA will eventually serve as a single authenticated government record by integrating ownership details, survey information, geospatial maps and legal encumbrances, reducing dependence on multiple land records maintained by different departments.
The government maintained that the NAKSHA programme is intended to create accurate, digitally accessible and tamper-resistant urban land records, improve urban planning, reduce property disputes and strengthen municipal service delivery.
