PANDURANG GAONKAR
PANAJI
In a bid to safeguard agricultural land, the State government has decided to enact a law to deter non-farmers from purchasing agricultural land in the State.
The government also intends to amend the land revenue code to set up the Land Revenue Board to simplify land transfer deals and another bill pertains to the labour department on shops and establishments.
These three bills are expected to be introduced in the forthcoming assembly session, if the State government approves these three drafts in the Cabinet meeting.
Commenting on the government’s decision to enact a law to deter non-farmers from buying agriculture land, Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte said, “This is not an amendment to any other law, but a completely new bill. We are introducing this bill to preserve agriculture land. The law department has also vetted this bill.”
“If we succeed in protecting agriculture land, it will be another way of granting special status to the State”, Khaunte added.
Khaunte, however, added that there is a provision in the proposed law for those persons with non-agriculture background to pursue farming activity.
Besides this bill, two other bills pertaining to land transfers are expected to be introduced in the State
assembly.
One bill seeks to amend the land revenue code to set up the Land Revenue Board (LRB) to simplify mutation and other process related to land transfers, while the other bill pertains to the labour department on shops and establishments.
The LRB has been felt necessary to address problems faced by the public in mutation cases and other related activities after land purchase.
Besides being a time-consuming process, applicants are compelled to visit different departments for approvals.
To resolve these issues, the LRB proposes a single-window clearance for land purchase deals.
According to the draft bill, the revenue minister will be chairman of the LRB, while all department heads concerned will be members.
NEW BILLS ON THE BLOCK
One bill seeks to amend land revenue code to set up Land Revenue Board (LRB) to simplify mutation and other process related to land transfers
The other bill pertains to labour department on shops & establishments
LRB felt necessary to address problems faced by public in mutation cases and other related activities
Besides being time-consuming, applicants compelled to visit different departments for approvals
LRB proposes a single-window clearance for land purchase deals
