SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2024
This Act has been supported by almost all MLAs and ministers to be able to cash in on the migrant vote bank. Dabolim MLA Mauvin Godinho who is one of the biggest backers and beneficiaries’ of this Act, due to the large migrant votes that make him win in Dabolim remarked that the Bill was for Goans who did not have homes for all these years. Its very definition and the way it has been worded indicated exactly three opposite. It has been totally worded in a manner that Bhumi putra is defined by the person's current residence, of at least thirty years. This is an extension of the domicile definition of 15 years and has nothing to do with giving land to locals. If it really was for Goans the definition would have been linked to ancestry, roots, birth and marriage details of parents and other generations etc. In Goa, it is not difficult to place and identify a family’s ancestry. This Bill is based totally on length of stay, which no checks and balances will allow full manipulation and forged documents.
If the Bill was for Goans then why does this bill supersede all other acts made for Goans?
The Mundkar and the Tenancy Act are very much in force. There are tens of thousands of Goans who own ancestral property. Plus there are many waiting for their mundkar rights. They are all genuine Goans. A migrant staying here for 30 years now has more power and rights over taking over or legalising encroachments in the properties of Goans. In what way can the minister say the Bhumiputra Act is for Goans.
