Thirty years ago Bhausaheb Bandodkar thought of giving Goans affordable housing zones which were demarcated and created and auctioned or leased to individuals depending on their family income. But with land prices soaring and people desperate to live nearer to the towns, these housing board regions have catered to more migrants than locals and are a hotbed of illegalities. Herald’s visit to Margao’s Housing Board reveals how there’s little or no room for local Goans.
“The Housing Board was set up on the outskirts of the village of Margao bordering the village of Aquem around three decades ago and plots were created in various phases for Middle Income Groups, Lower middle income groups and Economically Backward groups. Either plots were created or cheap housing flats and home were sold constructed through contractors appointed by the government,” explains historian and former Margao Municipality Chairperson Valmiki Faleiro.
Valmiki explains how sale of plots was broken down and demarcated into really tiny plots which were affordable to migrants and plots which were so tiny that Goans would never opt for and as such the region was up for grabs by migrants.
“Forget builders, but from villages to city areas, especially in Housing Board, you will notice that all the locals have extended their rooms and created small cubicles to generate rent and make additional income and since these spaces were near to Margao it gave rise to migrants renting these spaces and as tenants even taking over these spaces over the years. Margao Housing Board, a hot bed to illegalities is a home for people everybody else but Goans,” explains renowned builder and property developer from Margao, Datta Naik.
While former MLA of Fatorda Alex Mama Cardozo explains how Housing Board once under Fatorda Constituency is now under Curtorim Constituency and has three parts in the jurisdiction of the municipality and one portion in the Rumdamol – Housing Board Panchayat.
“With so many illegal houses and encroachments and newer constructions on fragmented land holdings Housing Board faces issues of garbage and sewage and is a an eye sore I will agree. Political will is needed to sort all our problems,” explains local MMC councillor, Khutbuddin Khagewadi.
While Datta Naik blames the local MLAs and their politics for this mess stating that Housing Board is a creation of vote bank politics which meant there has been nobody to keep a tab on the growing illegalities of the region.
