Karsten Miranda
In a late-night coup, the State government pushed through legislation to regularise unauthorised houses on comunidade land, drawing fierce backlash from comunidade leaders across Goa, who branded it an ‘assault on the rule of law’ and ‘legalised plunder’, and vowed to challenge it in court.
The Goa Legislative Diploma No 2070 dated April 15, 1961 (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was passed in the Assembly late on Thursday night after repeated adjournments and uproar from the Opposition. The law allows the regularisation of unauthorised houses built before February 28, 2014, on comunidade land — property traditionally owned and managed by local gaunkar communities.
Opposition MLAs rushed to the well of the House twice, forcing Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar to adjourn proceedings. The government, led by Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserrate, called the bill a ‘humanitarian gesture’ aimed at giving ‘legal security’ to landless persons. Critics, however, see it as the State legitimising encroachment on private land in the name of welfare and opening the floodgates for future land grabs.
Adv Sávio Correia, President of the Comunidades of Margao, Aquem, Davorlim and Dicarpale, launched a scathing attack on the amendments. Correia said, “They (govt) essentially tell us that the fastest way to become a landowner in Goa is to break the law, trespass on comunidade land, and wait for the Government to reward your crime with a legal title. The amendments are an assault on the rule of law itself. The gaunkars of Goa will not surrender to the politics of legalised plunder and will challenge the amendments in court.”
Correia described it as “a sad day for comunidades in Goa” because the government “that is supposed to be their guardian has abdicated its responsibility at the altar of political expediency and vote-bank politics.”
He criticised the irony of a government empowered to act on encroachments through administrators now shifting the blame to the comunidades for permitting them.
The comunidade leader warned that the legislation would “ensure the perpetuation of slums on comunidade land” in areas like Moti Dongor, Tolsanzor, Sancoale, Mormugao and Chimbel “for at least the next two decades,” describing it as “a disaster for planned development.” He said it made “a mockery of town planning laws and building regulations, as well as of law-abiding citizens who have gone through the fire to legally buy land and construct their homes or obtain grants of comunidade land.”
John Phillip Pereira, Attorney of the Nagoa Comunidade and member of the South Goa Comunidades Forum, said “The bill is totally illegal. The BJP government is trying to secure its vote bank for the 2027 MLA elections. These amendments will be challenged by the gaunkars and shareholders of the comunidades.”
He argued that since comunidade lands are private, the amendments violate Article 14 of the Indian Constitution regarding equality before the law, calling it “legalisation for a class of dishonest persons.”
Agnelo Furtado, President of the Chinchinim Comunidade and an expert on comunidade matters, said “The legislation is ultra vires and discriminatory of Article 14 of the Constitution.”
“It gives equal status to citizens who follow construction rules and those who take the illegal path. This will encourage and open the floodgates to construct illegally on comunidade land, with amnesty granted at election time,” Furtado warned.
Under the new legislation, introduced by Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserrate, Article 372B is added to the Diploma, allowing the regularisation of unauthorised dwelling houses on up to 300 square metres of land — comprising the plinth area of the dwelling plus up to two metres of adjoining area on all sides from the outer walls.
Applicants must be landless persons who have been residents of Goa for at least 15 years before February 28, 2014. The law excludes sensitive areas such as protected forests, wildlife sanctuaries, coastal regulation zones, and eco-sensitive zone-I. Where encroached areas exceed 300 square metres, applicants must surrender the excess land.
Applications must be made within six months of the Act coming into force, providing immediate protection to existing dwelling houses constructed before February 28, 2014, and preventing their demolition for six months from the enforcement date. Applicants must obtain consent from the comunidade body to regularise the structure, with comunidades having 30 days to decide on applications. If they fail to do so, the applicant can approach the Administrator, who is empowered to act against all dwelling units that fail to make a regularisation claim within the six-month window.
Comunidade stakeholders indicated that approaching the court remains their only recourse after their attempts to prevent the bill through representations proved unsuccessful. They are studying the new bill and will hold internal discussions on how best to approach the courts. They criticised the manner in which the bill was introduced — tabled late at night after several adjournments — suggesting the government wanted to pass it quickly when public viewership of Assembly proceedings would be minimal.
The leaders revealed they had submitted representations from over 60 comunidade managing committees to the government on July 21, the day the Assembly session began, and earlier to the Governor. This was part of the Save Goa, Save Comunidade Campaign, which held meetings across all three zones of the State and includes over 90 comunidade members.
Their representation unanimously resolved to vehemently oppose any regularisation of encroachments on comunidade lands, arguing that the bill undermines fundamental legal and constitutional protections granted to comunidade land and promotes illegality, setting a dangerous precedent for institutionalised land grabbing.
Leaders also pointed out that the government was seeking to circumvent courts that have generally sided with comunidade bodies. They noted that, except for a couple of demolitions, there has been a delay in implementing orders, with many cases stuck in appeals — particularly concerning slum areas on comunidade lands.
Defending the legislation, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, accompanied by Revenue Minister Monserrate, said “The bill will provide relief to the affected public. The government is empowered to intervene through such legislation in the interest of the public. The bill has been tabled after considered scrutiny.” “It is legally sound and within the government’s mandate,” Sawant asserted.
During the tumultuous Assembly session, the Opposition questioned the government’s legal standing to compel a private entity to hand over comunidade land to encroachers. Opposition MLAs called the amendment nothing but a reintroduction of the Goa Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill in a new garb by the BJP.
Aldona MLA Carlos Ferreira demanded a strict approach, calling for the demolition of unauthorised structures on comunidade land. RGP MLA Viresh Borkar argued that the regularisation would benefit migrant workers who had encroached on comunidade land, and said the bill should have specified that only landless persons of Goan origin would be eligible to apply.
The comunidade leaders remain undeterred and are preparing both to proceed with ongoing litigation against encroachments and to launch a fresh court challenge against the new legislation.