NEW DELHI: The Centre has turned down Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s demand in May last year to grant a “Special Status” to Goa to enable the state government bar the outsiders buying land in the state.
The demand “has not been found justifiable and hence not agreed to” since it would contravene Article 19(1)(d) and 19(1)(e) of the Constitution, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju disclosed in a written reply to Goa’s Congress MP Shantaram Naik in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Article 19(1)(d) gives all citizens the right “to move freely throughout the territory of India” and Article (1)(e) the right “to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.”
The minister said the Chief Minister of Goa had sought the grant of the special status on the lines of one granted to Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand under Article 371 or any other provisions of the Constitution “for regulating the ownership and transfer of land in order to conserve the limited resources available for development and to ensure that the state preserves its unique identity.”
Citing the two articles that protect the rights of free movement and reside or settle in any part of India, the minister said they, however, do not prevent the state to make any law imposing reasonable restrictions “in the interest of the general public or for the protection of interest of any Scheduled Tribe.”
Any enactment of law on land rests with the state legislature since “land” as a subject, including right in or over land, land tenure, etc. figures at Entry 18 in the List II, the State list of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, the minister added.
