PANAJI
With over 650 land complaints filed with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) (Land Grab) over 30 months, only a fraction is being investigated.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s reply in the Assembly reveals that the SIT received a total of 658 complaints since its formation in 2022. Of these, 72 per cent have been transferred while only around 19 per cent have been registered for investigation or are closed.
The details, submitted in response to MLA Carlos Ferreira’s starred LAQ, stated that 480 complaints were transferred because they did not fall under the jurisdiction of organised land grabbing. These cases were referred to the respective district Superintendents of Police (SPs) for further action.
The highest number of 435 complaints was received in 2022, followed by 196 complaints in 2023 and 27 in the current year till July 13.
In 2022, 106 complaints were either registered or closed as 38 were disposed of as being civil in nature, 16 first information reports (FIRs) were registered and 52 complaints were enclosed in the FIRs. A total of 305 cases were transferred to the concerned district SPs and 24 complaints are still pending inquiry.
In 2023, 13 complaints were disposed of for the same reason, five FIRs were registered and two cases were enclosed in the registered FIRs. A total of 15 complaints are under inquiry.
So far in 2024, one FIR has been registered and one complaint is enclosed in the FIR. The SIT has registered a total of 44 FIRs including cases from 2010, 2020 and 2021 with the highest 27 FIRs registered in 2022.
The one-man commission, which provided a set of recommendations to prevent further land grab cases, will not be tabled immediately. The Chief Minister stated it would be tabled only after complete implementation. “The report shall be placed upon comprehensive implementation of the same,” he stated.
The commission made several suggestions. Some amendments are being tabled in the ongoing assembly such as the No Man’s Land Act, which aims to transfer unclaimed land to the government.
The one-man panel, constituted on August 30, 2022, under the Commission of Inquiries Act, 1952, submitted its report to the government on November 1, 2023. The commission handled 44 FIRs registered by the SIT involving 93 land parcels and properties measuring 1.5 lakh square metres.
