PANJIM: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday reiterated that Comunidade laws will be amended to protect the houses of native Goans and not to regularise any slums.
Speaking to mediapersons after the Cabinet meeting, Sawant said nearly 70 to 80 per cent of the houses to which demolition order had been issued by various Comunidades managing committees were Goans.
Stating that these occupants had built their houses way back in the seventies and eighties, Sawant said that at five places including Canacona, Saligao and Pernem, the Comunidades had issued demolition notices. He mentioned that nearly 500 houses situated in Canacona taluka and 150 to 200 houses in Saligao were issued demolition notices.
The Chief Minister pointed out that these houses were built after Comunidades granted consent letters for constructing them. He said solution will be arrived at by taking Comunidades and the people into confidence. The law is not to regularise slums, but to protect Goan houses, he said.
The State Assembly had passed The Goa Regularisation of Unauthorised Construction (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to regularise structures in Comunidade land but it faced stiff resistance from the people.
