PANAJI
The Goa Legislative Assembly on Wednesday passed legislation which will enable the State government to revise, in consultation with the High Court, the value of land for the purpose of arriving at the value of civil suits in courts.
The law — The Goa Suits Valuation Bill, 2025 — was piloted by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, standing in for Law Minister Aleixo Sequeira, and was passed by a 31-6 vote count after the Opposition insisted on a division.
Leader of the Opposition, Yuri Alemao, had sought changes in the wording of some of the bill's clauses to introduce a provision for seeking objections from the public before notifying the revised land values. Alemao also sought some changes which would make it mandatory for the government to publish or make available the revised land values.
Congress' Aldona MLA, Carlos Alvares Ferreira, raised concern that if it is only meant for the purpose of evaluating civil suit values and increasing court fees, it may make the cost of litigation prohibitive and impose a heavy financial burden on people who may want to approach courts for even simple purposes of ownership declaration.
However, Sawant, while conceding to some changes in wording, urged Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar to put the passing of the bill to the vote of the House, but Alemao insisted on a division.
Consequently, the government legislation was passed by a 31-6 vote count with one Opposition member — Altone D'Costa — not present in the House at the time.
