TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Three years after imposing a moratorium on construction licences for farmhouses, the government is yet to finalize farmhouse regulations that will ensure that such houses are used exclusively by farmers and are not converted for commercial or real estate purposes.
The Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department had on October 2013, halted construction licences for farmhouses, following an animated debate over illegal ones in the legislative assembly. Goa Vikas Party legislator Francisco Pacheco had alleged there was an increase in illegal farmhouses across the state with nearly 5000 illegal such houses.
Chief Town Planner Dr S T Putturaju said the government is in the process of revising the policy for granting farmhouse permissions. “We observed that the concept is misused by people. The regulations will aim at controlling the system, without interfering into the rights of people,” he said.
Putturaju said the government is working on amending the farmhouse regulations thereby preventing its misuse. “The new regulations will ensure that farmhouses are exclusively used by farmers and not sold for commercial and real estate purposes,” he added.
Permissions for farmhouses are granted under the Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations 2010.
The farmhouse is a shelter on agricultural land built by a farmer for agricultural purposes. No permissions are given to farmhouses below 4,000 square metres of land, the chief town planner said.
As per government records, there are no farmhouses built on area of 2000 square metres of land. North and south Goa planning and development authorities and other branches of TCP were directed to furnish details about permissions granted to farmhouses since 1987-88, when the first licence was issued.
