PANAJI
Nearly two months after the State Government launched its flagship ‘Mhajo Flat’ scheme aimed at securing ownership rights for thousands of flat owners, the scheme has failed to attract a single application, despite the government setting an ambitious target of covering 40,000 to 50,000 flat owners.
Cooperation Minister Subhash Shirodkar informed the Assembly that the government has not received any application under the scheme till date.
“Any Cooperative Housing Society having no conveyance/ Title Deed are eligible under these scheme,” he said.
The Goa Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, promulgated on July 7, brought the scheme into force with immediate effect. The initiative seeks to provide legal ownership to flat owners who lack formal conveyance deeds because of unresolved issues involving builders or landowners.
“The objective of the Scheme is ‘No title to Giving Title’,” Shirodkar said, adding that several co-operative societies face difficulties in getting land and buildings conveyed in their names due to various reasons related to builders or landowners. The scheme is intended to facilitate deemed conveyance in favour of such societies.
Under the new statutory framework, housing societies can seek unilateral deemed conveyance when builders or landowners fail to execute the required deed. A designated officer will scrutinise the documents and submit a report to the competent co-operative officer, who can order registration of the conveyance even when disputes exist between the builder and landowner.
The entire process is required to be completed within one year of an application. Builders or promoters obstructing the process can face penalties of up to Rs 10 lakh, besides Rs 5,000 per day for continued default.
To lower costs, the government has fixed the registration fee for unilateral deemed conveyance at Rs 10,000, with concessional stamp duty based on the property’s location and nature. Conveyances executed by members in favour of co-operative housing societies have also been exempted from stamp duty.
The ordinance also enables owners of pre-RERA buildings with three or more dwelling units to form co-operative housing societies.
It further provides a framework for redevelopment and establishes the Society’s Advisory Harmony and Redressal Authority (SAHARA) to address grievances and disputes involving co-operative housing societies.
