PANAJI
The monsoon session of the legislative assembly saw withdrawals of six bills and one was referred to the Select Committee -- a situation probably never witnessed before. Of these, four bills including the highly debated and controversial TCP Bill, were tabled by Minister Viswajit Rane who withdrew all of these in a single day. The other two were tabled by Minister Mauvin Godinho "The Goa Industrial Development (Amendment) Bill, 2024" and Minister Aleixo Sequeira "The Water (Prevention and Control Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2023".
TCP (Amendment and
Validation) Bill, 2024
The Town and Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane was apparently compelled to withdraw the controversial Town and Country Planning (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024, just two days before the monsoon session of the legislative session ended. The Bill proposed amending section 19 of the original TCP Act to keep Outline Development Plans valid even if their planning areas were withdrawn. It also sought to restrict other State authorities from challenging development permissions granted by the TCP department and validate all permissions and zoning reports, including those under the disputed Candolim-Calangute and Arpora-Nagoa-Parra ODPs, which are currently under review by the Bombay High Court at Goa. The clause barring courts from entertaining suits against these approvals was a key point of contention.
Goa Clinical Establishments
(Registration and Regulation)
(Amendment) Bill
On the same day, the Goa Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was unexpectedly withdrawn without any explanation. The Bill proposed the introduction of a new section, 20A, which aimed to extend the time limits for both provisional and permanent registration of establishments under the Act. It also sought to amend section 45 of the Act, aligning it with the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and proposed changes to section 47 to provide additional time for clinical establishments to comply with registration requirements. The Bill further aimed to repeal the Goa Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024, promulgated by the Governor on March 15, 2024.
Goa Municipalities
(Amendment) Bill, 2024
The now-withdrawn Goa Municipalities (Amendment) Bill, 2024, proposed key revisions to align with India’s new criminal legislation replacing outdated references to the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and related statutes. The bill amended multiple sections of the Goa Municipalities Act, 1968, incorporating changes necessitated by the enactment of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
Key changes included an amendment to Section 184D, replacing “Government” with “High Court” to enable judicial review of decisions by the Appellate Authority. Moreover, Section 184F was modified to mandate the submission of development plans to the District Planning Committee, in compliance with a 2020 directive from the High Court of Bombay at Goa.
City of Panaji Corporation
(Amendment) Bill, 2024
Also withdrawn, the City of Panaji Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2024, proposed several key changes to the City of Panaji Corporation Act, 2002 in line with existing legislation, such as the Goa Municipalities Act, 1968. One of the primary amendments is the expansion of the definition of “building” in clause (8) of section 5 of the Act, and sought to amend section 9, granting the State Election Commission authority over the delimitation of city wards. Section 10 was also proposed to be amended to mandate the publication of ward reservations in the Official Gazette.
The Bill further introduced new sections 12A, 12B, and 12C enabling the requisition of premises or vehicles for election purposes, similar to provisions in section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 while also a new section 59A was proposed, responding to a directive from the High Court which called for a time limit on the submission of development plans by Panchayats, Zilla Panchayats and Municipal Councils.
The Water (Prevention and Control Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2023 tabled during the previous assembly session – adopted after the Union Ministry proposed four amendments - was withdrawn by Minister for Environment Aleixo Sequeira as it had lapsed. However, in the just-ended session, there was a resolution adopted to pass the amendments.
The Goa Industrial Development
(Amendment) Bill, 2024
After opposition demanded the Bill be sent to Select Committee, Minister Mauvin Godinho withdrew The Goa Industrial Development (Amendment) Bill, 2024 proposed to ensure greater transparency, address potential conflicts of interest, improve the corporation’s functioning, and enhance ease of doing business.
Goa Investment Promotion and
Facilitation of Single Window
Clearance (Amendment) Bill, 2024
After withdrawals, there was one Bill that was referred to the Select Committee. On the last day of the session, the government conceded to the Opposition’s demand to refer the Goa Investment Promotion and Facilitation of Single Window Clearance (Amendment) Bill, 2024, to House Select Committee. Opposition benches raised concerns the legislation could facilitate unchecked construction under the guise of investment promotion and warned that it might allow the Board's planning development construction committee to convert land, approve plans, issue construction licenses and collect fees on behalf of other departments.
