The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that land leased under the Goa Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964 must be used only for farming, and not for any other purpose. The verdict strengthens the legal protection for agricultural land in the state.
A bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice K Vinod Chandran gave the ruling while hearing a long-standing dispute over two land parcels in Tivim, Bardez — Oiteil-de-Madel and Levelechy Aradi. The land was leased by the Comunidade of Tivim to the ancestors of the respondents in 1978 for agricultural use.
The issue dates back to 1986, when a civil court recognised the respondents as tenants. This decision became final, as no appeal was filed.
Meanwhile, the North Zone meetings are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, and the Central Zone meetings for Friday and Saturday.
Joint representation letters are being signed and collected across the three zones and will be submitted to the government on July 20, just a day before the Assembly session begins. Campaigners have vowed to challenge the bill in court, including before the Supreme Court if necessary.
However, the draft bill has not yet been made public and no copy has been published on official portals. Much of the current unrest is based on statements made by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the Panchayat Minister.
Explaining their opposition in writing, representatives of the ‘Save Comunidades, Save Goa’ group said their core objection lies in the proposed regularisation of encroachments without the consent of comunidades.
“As far as we are aware, as per the statement of the Chief Minister, the Government intends to pass a law which will regularise encroachments upon land belonging to the Comunidades, and to do the same without the consent of the Comunidades. We are completely opposed to the very idea of the regularisation of encroachments or illegal structures. Such acts on part of the Government amounts to rewarding persons for breaking the law and punishes the Comunidades/ local community/ Gaunkars by divesting them of their lands,” said a representative of the group.
They also confirmed that no comunidade has received or located any official copy of the draft bill.
“We checked the Goa Legislative Assembly, Law Department and Gazette websites. No bill draft has been published. Despite this lack of transparency, statements from ministers and reports in credible media suggest that the bill is being prepared. These statements include indications that authority over regularisation may be handed to the Administrator, thereby circumventing the general body of each Comunidade, which is the lawful decision-making authority under the Code of Comunidades,” they added.
The group after their round of meetings on Tuesday further stated “We have reached a significant milestone: 71 Managing Committees of Comunidades have joined us!"
Their meetings aim to build solidarity across Goa’s three zones, culminating in a coordinated legal and policy response. The objections being raised will also reference the High Court’s ongoing suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) related to illegal structures on comunidade land.
Adding to the legal warnings, Adv Savio Correia, President of the Comunidades of Margao, Aquem, Davorlim and Dicarpale, said, “The proposed law to regularise illegal constructions on Comunidade land will be nothing but a legislative misadventure. It will not stand judicial scrutiny and will be challenged by the Comunidades. We are confident it will meet the same fate as many recent infamous laws — struck down. My word of caution to encroachers: don’t start celebrating yet. The JCBs may be slow, but they never lose their way.”
Adding a legal perspective from the Opposition, Aldona MLA and senior advocate Carlos Alvares Ferreira said, “We will examine the bill when it is introduced and respond accordingly. I can assure that we will ensure that the constitutional and legal rights of the comunidade bodies are not trampled upon and that comunidades are protected. The Bill should not be brought to fool the encroachers into believing that Government wants to protect them. It needs to pass the test of the legality. Else, it will be pure political gimmick due to the forthcoming Zilla Panchayat (ZP) elections followed by Assembly elections after which, they will stand confirmed for demolition.”
Echoing these concerns, AAP MLAs Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva — both comunidade stakeholders — have also assured that they will oppose the bill in the Assembly and represent the concerns raised during these meetings.
Amidst the rising opposition, Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho on Tuesday defended the government’s position, asserting that the proposed legislation would follow due process. He said the government would take the right decision and added that this was not a new move but one already in the public domain. “The court itself has left a window of opportunity to legalise these houses by following due process of law and proper procedures,” he said. “Can you demolish all houses and put people on the road? Can that ever happen?” he asked, urging comunidades to “see reason” and understand the government’s approach.
Godinho said the bill would be introduced in the upcoming session with full cabinet awareness and aligned with judicial directions. He estimated that over 30,000 houses stand on comunidade land and thousands more on government land, many occupied by third-generation residents. “Should we remove them and demolish?” he asked. “There are only two options — continue demolitions or pass a law to legalise these houses through due process.”
Finally, tying the legal resistance back to ongoing proceedings, comunidade members also pointed to several pending court cases against encroachments on comunidade land. They argued that the proposed bill appeared to be an attempt to protect violators who are poised to lose these cases — especially given recent High Court and Supreme Court decisions that upheld comunidade ownership and led to demolitions. While actual enforcement has been slow, they stressed that legal precedent was clearly on the side of the comunidades — and any attempt to bypass that through legislation would be met with firm resistance.
SC reinforces legal shield on Goa’s agro land
The matter resurfaced in 2017, when another court again declared the respondents as agricultural tenants. The Comunidade challenged this decision.
In 2021, the Comunidade suggested a compromise: give 60% of the land to the tenants with full ownership and the freedom to use it for non-agricultural purposes, and let the remaining 40% return to the Comunidade. However, both the Administrative Tribunal and the Bombay High Court at Goa rejected this proposal.
The Supreme Court has now upheld those rejections. It said the compromise would illegally turn tenancy rights into ownership and allow land to be used for non-agricultural purposes — violating the Tenancy Act of 1964 and the Goa Land Use (Regulation) Act, 1991.
The Court pointed out that the Tenancy Act allows tenancy to end only through proper legal steps, such as surrender by the tenant or action by the landlord. Also, tenants can buy the land only by following strict procedures laid out in Chapter IIA of the Act, which include price determination and transfer restrictions — none of which were followed in the proposed compromise.
The court also said the plan violated Section 2 of the Land Use Act, which clearly prohibits using tenanted agricultural land for other purposes.
On the role of the Administrative Tribunal, the Court clarified that while Comunidades have the power to propose compromises under Article 30(4)(g) of the Code of Comunidades, these powers do not override other state laws. The Tribunal’s refusal to approve the compromise was legally correct.
The Supreme Court’s decision sends a clear message: Comunidades cannot bypass tenancy and land-use laws through private deals or shortcuts. Any change in the use or ownership of tenanted land must strictly follow the law.
With the appeal dismissed, the pending tenancy case will now continue in the appellate court and be decided on its own merits.
Goa taxi app: CM pushes tech, BJP chief not so sure
The debate unfolds as the Goa government pushes ahead with plans to allow app-based taxi aggregators to operate in the state. Draft guidelines for the same were notified on May 20, with stakeholders invited to submit feedback by June 30. The proposal has stirred opposition among traditional taxi unions concerned about livelihood impacts.
As the government navigates the path toward modernisation, the contrast between the Chief Minister’s call for swift digital transformation and the party president’s cautious approach highlights the political sensitivities surrounding change in Goa’s transport sector.
Odisha student who set herself on fire on campus, dies
However, non-BJP leaders such as Rahul Gandhi of the Congress and BJD president Naveen Patnaik termed the incident an "organised murder by the system".
The BJD and Congress demanded a judicial probe into the incident and also sought removal of the chief minister and Higher Education Minister Surbyabanshi Suraj till completion of the investigation.
BJD said the judicial commission should be headed by a sitting high court judge.
The INDIA bloc parties also called for a bandh in the state on July 17. The second-year Integrated BEd student in Balasore set herself ablaze shortly after coming out of the principal's chamber.
The student who suffered 95 per cent burns was first admitted to the Balasore District Headquarters Hospital and then shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar for advanced treatment.
She was declared dead hours after President Droupadi Murmu visited her at the burn unit ICU.
"The patient was on mechanical ventilation. Despite adequate resuscitation and all possible supportive management, including renal replacement therapy at the Burns ICU, she could not be revived and was declared clinically dead at 11:46 pm on July 14," the AIIMS Bhubaneswar's Department of Burn Centre said in a statement on Tuesday.