The Goa Legislative Assembly witnessed a heated exchange on Thursday during a Calling Attention motion moved by BJP MLA Nilesh Cabral on the Goa Escheats, Forfeiture and Bona Vacantia Act, 2024, and a viral video made by Congress MLA Adv Carlos Ferreira criticising the legislation and terming it an ‘official land grab’.
Defending the Act, the government said it was rooted in Article 296 of the Constitution and aimed to safeguard vacant and abandoned land from encroachments, fraud and illegal possession. In essence, Article 296 empowers the government to take possession of property that has no rightful owner — such as when a person dies without legal heirs or when property is abandoned.
Cabral alleged that Ferreira’s video misrepresented the Act by calling it an ‘official land grab’, thereby spreading fear and misinformation.
Responding sharply, Ferreira stood by his video and accused the motion of being ‘misleading’.
“I said when the bill was brought on the floor of the House that this was the official land grab. My concern is over the ambiguous definition of ‘abandoned properties. The vagueness of the definition could be misused.”
Responding sharply, Ferreira stood by his video and dismissed the Calling Attention motion as ‘misleading’.
“I said when the bill was brought on the floor of the House that this was the official land grab,” he asserted. “My concern is over the ambiguous definition of ‘abandoned properties’. The vagueness of the definition could be misused,” he warned.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant objected to the remark, labeling it ‘false and misleading’, which triggered uproar in the House, with members from both the ruling and opposition benches rising in protest.
Sawant tried to defend the legislation, saying it was introduced to tackle illegal land grabbing. He pointed to the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has already registered 22 cases and made 75 arrests, including six government officials.
“The government is clean in this matter and serious about cracking down on illegal land deals,” Sawant said. “The intention of the government is very clear. This is not the discussion on the bill. The Calling Attention has been brought to defame the government. We will not tolerate any attempt to malign the government’s image,” Sawant shot back.
He added that if Ferreira had objections, he was free to challenge the law in court instead of making public allegations. The ruling benches demanded that Ferreira withdraw the video, accusing him of trying to defame the government.
Joining the discussion, Fatorda MLA Vijay Sardesai urged the government to disclose the number of identified cases. Sawant reiterated that the SIT was actively pursuing cases related to land fraud.