Farmhouses were started in Germany and Scandinavia in 1700s as need for houses on farms, for the purpose of housing farm hands as transportation was difficult. Without running water and electricity, farm-houses may bring in nostalgia of simple living. It would even evoke idea of having own source of fresh fruits and foods and living in the lap of nature. But in modern times farm-houses are only lavish style statements with swimming pool, gym, café etc. It’s a place of leisure to enjoy with friends and family.
The rich of North-India have special fascination for such farmhouses. Delhi may be the only state which has specified areas for farmhouses in the Delhi Master Plan though not a value for money investment due to high cost and its use as a vacation place, it is a status symbol for the neo-rich. Why should only Shah Rukh Khan, Sunil Shetty, Priyanka Chopra or Cyrus Poonawala have all the fun? In the aspirational class – all yearn to have one of their own.
Since the new economic reforms, farmhouses are in vogue for the rich mostly at the hill stations and beyond the city area. Earlier the super-rich had such vacations in Solan, Shimla, Alibaug or Otty. Now Sindhudurg in the Western Ghat area Delhi Jaipur Highway and Nandi Hills are full of farmhouses due to the beautiful hills, greenery, forest cover and scenic view.
Goa has been a holiday destination for some time but farmhouses has not been a part of our culture. The affluent from the North opted for sea-facing apartments or villas on the banks of the rivers as second homes. The ‘Goa’s sea-face’ could add a crore –and-a- half to an apartment otherwise worth 65 lakhs rupees! That’s how land market boomed, making housing prohibitive for locals. With overbuilding of holiday homes, land came under stress and Goans have been fighting for loss of the very idea of Goa. For a past more than the two decades Goans has been fighting a losing battle in protecting what is left of their countryside – its paddy fields, orchards and the green cover. Parra may not find land to grow water-melons!
Goa Government’s proposal to ban sale of agricultural land to non-agriculturists, brought a sigh of relief. It was believed that at least the agricultural lands would be saved. It was always known that almost nobody invests here in agriculture and the land bankers would buy even agricultural land knowing that they would have the last laugh someday. There was a feeling that some relief would trickle down from the ban on sale of agricultural land.
Ban on sale of land? My foot! The Goa Restriction on transfer of agricultural land Bill actually facilitates transfer of paddy-fields with Collector’s permission, when industrial or commercial concerns need land for agriculture in connection with its operations. Land can be transferred to cooperative framing societies and to non-agriculturists if the collector permits such a transfer. The bill provides for a ‘medicine worse than the disease’. The discretion to the Collector in permitting sale is a dangerous recipe. Which collector has the gumption to say ‘no’ to the Revenue Minister? The discretion in planning and land use area has always been a recipe used to destroy the green belt, whether it is sec. 16B or 17A of the TCP Act. Have a close look at 17A of the TCP Act, a provision brought in to prohibit hill cutting and filling up of low lying lands without permission of the chief Town Planner has actually being used to shave hills and flatten them.
Making collectors responsible for permitting sale is a clear invitation for building of farm-houses by real estate industry and Cooperative Housing Societies. Farm-houses has been on the agenda for some time. Goa Building Regulations has provision for farmhouse in an area of 4000 sq. mts. A former TCP Minister told us that North Indian Investors build farmhouses on small tracks of land with no farm around. The present TCP Minister wanted to bring in a new farm house policy. In fact he proposed one in 2022. The Goa Land Revenue Code already provides for ‘farm building’ for cultivation, keeping implements and cattle and purposes integral to cultivation arrangement. Though in theory farm houses are to be used by the farmers for their own use and not to be let out for commercial consideration, that’s only on paper. Present day farm houses are a new real estate model – palaces with landscaped gardens and hardly any farming.
Generally a small percentage of agricultural land is permitted to be used for farmhouse. In Karnataka, it’s 10% of the area held. Many gated villas and vacation homes 50 kilometers off Bangalore hidden in the hilly terrain of Nandi Hills provide space for the city techies to recharge their batteries with that 10% space.
The post-pandemic times seem to provide a new dimension to the farm culture. The flexible working schedule brought by the new ‘work from home’ culture seem to provide impetus to work from the countryside with scenic view and green cover away from the asphyxiated city life. Real estate news show that there is a high rise in demand for farm houses as regular weekend gateways. In fact even during the lockdown times, the Goa vacation homes provided solace to the rich and the famous. Looks like the agri. bill spearheaded by Revenue minister Monseratte is actually in furtherance of the growing demand of the super-rich to own farmhouses in scenic locale. Goa has much more to offer. Monsoon season brings greenery. A Sea facing farm house with large track of greenery will provide a more picturesque hotspot and great location for work from home amidst tranquility of nature. Now awaiting a new Goa farmhouse policy!
(The writer is a practicing advocate and a political thinker)
