MARGAO: The November 3 proposed amendments to Goa Land Revenue (Conversion of use of land and non-agricultural assessment) Rules, 1969, has created a furore among crusaders who protect Goa’s land and forests, who say the move is audacious.
The amendments fundamentally allow the Collector’s office to decide on the conversion of land from agricultural to non-agricultural land if it is not cleared by the TCP Department in 20 days.
It effectively allows the bypassing of the Forest Department’s role in identifying the canopy density in forest land and stopping conversions if the density was high.
Local communities and activists fighting land conversion have also stated that the absence of information regarding the nature and present use of the land requires the authorities to strictly refrain from giving any permission for change in land use.
They also stated that the draft Rules, which propose to give powers to Collectors to allow land use changes without the necessary information, are thus in violation of the Precautionary Principle, and illegal.
Abhijit Prabhudesai of Rainbow Warriors, who has filed a 20-page objection three days before the deadline for filing objections to the amendment lapses, reiterated that the Goa government is yet to identify large portions of the forests of Goa and cited the government’s own statement that there are about 200 sq kms of forests in Goa, out of which not even a quarter are identified till date.
“Therefore, it is obvious that the Forest Department will need much more than 20 days to decide the applications by measuring canopy density, counting and identifying the species of trees, and determining the nature of adjacent lands,” Prabhudesai added.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s 2015 order, in a case where the criteria used by the Goa government for identifying forests was challenged, Rainbow Warriors has stated in its objections that the Supreme Court has prohibited the conversion of lands if they are within a patch above one hectare, with defined tree cover and canopy density, which can be decided only after proper evaluation of the subject and adjoining lands.
“Therefore, the draft Rules, which will allow the Collector to decide conversion of lands without necessary inputs from the Forest Department, are completely illegal and in contempt of the SC’s specific orders,” Prabhudesai added.
“New draft Rules be drawn up in consultation with the local communities to strengthen the regulation of land use changes and to ensure protection to land from conversion of land use as required by the Supreme Court (SC) Orders, other laws and social and environmental necessities listed in this letter,” Prabhudesai added further.
Fast-track agricultural conversion for fast-track construction
Main fallout of this amendment: Converting agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes will not be thoroughly scrutinised, allowing existing checks and balances to be scuttled for conversion of agricultural land.
“Aim of the amendment appears to be getting the applications cleared as soon as possible even though there are multiple conversations happening per day and post the amendment it will be difficult for the Collector to track the data and scrutinise the so many applications properly. The backdrop of recent opposition to the proposed amendments to the TCP Act, which was later suspended, the amendment could lead to scams in the future”
— Swapnesh Sherlekar, Green Activist, GSP
The controversy is about point 3 in the amendment of the Goa Land Revenue (Conversion of use of land and non-agricultural assessment) Rules, 1969.
It states: Report/NOC/recommendation for land conversion shall be obtained from the Town and Country Planning Department, Forest Department, Inspector of Survey and Land Records and Mamlatdar, who shall submit their report/ NOC/recommendation within a period of 20 days from the date of reference made by the Collector. In case the report is not submitted within such period of twenty days the Collector shall proceed to decide the application for conversion on the basis of the information as available after expiry of the said period of twenty days.
Why do activists feel that this will open the doors to rampant unscrutinised conversions
— The system is not equipped to process these applications so quickly. Via the amendment, the applications will be cleared quickly and one can get a conversion sanad easily. Activists say providing such a single-window clearance is a recipe for disaster.
— “As per the amendment, the entire responsibility for giving the conversion sanad is in the hands of Deputy Collector or Collector for making the decision based on the available data in his hand,” said Swapnesh Sherlekar, Goencho Swabhiman Party (GSP) President who is also filing an objection
“A person can no longer apply to the Forest Department asking for a tree canopy density certificate. If the density is beyond 40% then ideally the Forest Department does not grant the recommendation/NOC because it then qualifies as a private forest,” Sherlekar explained.
If the applicant’s land size is big, the canopy density will be bigger but if the applicant is plotting that land into smaller pieces, your canopy density will be very small. Earlier, the file was sent to the Forest Department to verify whether that particular survey number is listed in the private forest tentative list. That will no longer be done.
