Goa’s land mathematics is a tight equation of space, people and pressure. The total land area is inelastic and fixed at 3702 sqkm. A significant portion of the pie is locked under forests, agriculture, mining, ecologically sensitive zones linked to the western ghats and other No Development Zones like CRZ, slope restrictions and airport funnel zones. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the availability of land in terms of mathematics. As per recent data, about 60% of land (2260 sqkm) is estimated to be under forest cover. Besides, tree cover (outside forests) is estimated to be around 250 sqkm. Thus, Goa is considered one of the most densely green regions, with combined forest and tree cover exceeding 65%.
As per ‘Goa At a Glance 2025’, a Government of Goa publication, 34% (1272.79 sqkm) of the total land area is under agriculture, classified as net area sown. The leading crop under agriculture is cashewnuts (569 sqkm), followed by paddy (326 sqkm), coconuts (268 sqkm), garden crops (128 sqkm) and the balance under minor crops like arecanuts, vegetables, other cereals etc. As per the 2011 population census, 62% of the population is considered to reside in urban areas, which must have gone up substantially by now. A huge area of land is already covered under various types of buildings like houses, apartments, hotels, business enterprises, shops and establishments, industries, defence installations, educational institutions, health institutions and various types of roads in the form of National Highways, State Highways, District Roads and Rural Roads.
The lands classified as agriculture are also not a realistic figure; rather, they are recorded official dated entries in the Record of Rights. In the absence of a Primary Reporting System in Goa, updates lag behind actual land use changes on the ground and therefore mostly old baselines get repeated, with some administrative corrections occasionally. Goa is officially classified as a non-land records State for agricultural statistics. Small land holdings, families mostly opting for non-agriculture employment opportunities, reluctance towards high-cost labour-dependent farming and the temptation to sell land for non-agriculture activities for financial gains have literally led to shrinking agriculture on the ground, resulting in land remaining fallow.
It is important to note that lands in Goa have three different identities. In the Record of Rights of the Revenue Department, the land is classified as dry crop, rice, khazan, morad, ker etc and it remains mostly static except for some ownership updation occasionally on account of mutation. The same land in the Regional Plan, which is basically a planning classification, is categorised as settlement zone, no development zone, agriculture zone, forest etc. Again, the same land for agriculture statistics purposes is classified as net sown area, gross cropped area, operational holdings etc. Therefore, a single parcel of land can simultaneously be ‘paddy land’ in land records, ‘settlement zone’ in the Regional Plan and ‘not cultivated’ in agriculture statistics. For instance, 2133 acres of land under the Mopa Airport project is still being shown as cultivable area in Form I & XIV and aviation zone in planning classification under the Regional Plan. That means the Mopa Airport Planning Area, now a purely commercial venture, is still cultivable agricultural land in the Record of Rights. Therefore, it cannot be denied that Goa lacks a reliable single-source scientific database of land records. Probably, it is time for Goa to adopt a more sophisticated and scientific land management system using advanced technologies so that different land identities are integrated and land use changes are updated dynamically.
Obviously, the land classification numbers cannot be added mathematically as they are not mutually exclusive and there will be some overlap in their classification. Even if the land classified as tree cover is considered an overlapping estimate, the net area under green cover and agriculture becomes more than 90%, which is significant. Therefore, the moot question is where the land for so-called development is. Undoubtedly, the pressure will be on the land classified as green cover or agriculture.
Goa is ecologically fragile and sensitive, comprising biodiversity hotspots like the western ghats, reserve forests, UNESCO World Heritage zones, coastal ecosystems like mangroves and khazan lands and flood-prone low-lying areas. The governance complexity and rising societal conflicts stem from the growing perception regarding lack of holistic planning, absence of transparency in land use policy, arbitrary zoning changes and piecemeal approvals for specific projects. It is not a new phenomenon. Goan society in the past has successfully demonstrated its disapproval of projects like Special Economic Zones, Nylon 66, Meta Strip etc. Even today, opposition mainly to real estate projects involving the contentious issue of selective land conversions is often visible.
Under the Land Acquisition Act 1894, land acquisition in Goa was rampant and, in some cases, the land acquired has either remained idle or been used for a different purpose. The new Land Acquisition Act of 2013 has become a boon for landowners as the land acquisition process has become complex, lengthy, time-consuming and costly. The consent requirements coupled with social and environmental safeguards under the new Act have shifted the power from the State to the landowners. Thus, post-enactment of the new Act, land acquisition in Goa has become rare, slow and often avoided, shifting to alternative options like direct purchase and government land utilisation.
On a positive note, the Government is responding to public sentiments by withdrawing previously approved projects and signalling openness to structural adjustments in land-use policy. The complexity of finding suitable land for the prestigious IIT project during the last 10 years is an indication of the land governance dilemma. The latest decision of the Government of India approving the Goa Government proposal to dilute the land requirement for Goa IIT itself is an example of evolving land use public policy in Goa. The policy of using minimum land may have to be supported with approvals to vertically go up with higher FAR. In order to gain public trust, it is high time that the Government came out with a transparent land management policy to reduce conflicts over land, prevent unplanned growth, protect the environment, preserve biodiversity and ensure balanced development.
(The author is a retired senior bureaucrat)
