PANJIM: The State Cabinet on Friday decided to grant automatic clearance for reconstruction of old structures based on existing Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in respective village panchayats and to facilitate issuing of house numbers to unauthorised structures purely for taxation purpose by amending the Goa Panchayati Raj Act.
Speaking to the media persons in the presence of Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, “A bill to amend the Goa Panchayati Raj will be introduced during the Assembly sessions starting next week wherein it has been proposed to issue house number to all unauthorised houses for the purpose of collecting house tax.”
The Chief Minister clarified that allotting house number does not mean the structure will become legal.
“The house number will be issued merely for the purpose of levying house tax,” he said adding that often there was a demand in the Legislative Assembly that the government should collect house tax from unauthorised structures.
“Fifty per cent of the houses situated in village panchayats sans house numbers and due to this the village panchayats are losing their revenue,” Godinho pointed out.
“Secondly, in view of expansion in family, there arises the need for extension of the existing single dwelling unit and considering this the Cabinet approved a proposal to allow reconstruction of a house as per the FAR permitted in respective village panchayats. The new structure will also have to be certified by a registered structural engineer,” the Minister said.
