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Beware RP violators! Massive penalty & jail in store

Govt tables bill to increase punishment and other to waive off infrastructure tax for single dwelling units

The Goan Network | DECEMBER 15, 2017, 01:26 AM IST



PANAJI: The Government of Goa tabled two bills -- one that seeks to increase the punishment for violating the Regional Plan and the other to waive off infrastructure tax for single dwelling units.
The amendments the first to the Goa Town and Country Planning Amendment Act, and the second to the Goa Infrastructure Tax Act will be taken up during the current session of the Goa Legislative Assembly for consideration and passing.
The Goa Town and Country Planning Amendment Bill 2017 seeks to amend section 16A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1974 to change the penal provisions for undertaking development contrary to the Regional Plan from ₹1-lakh to ₹10-lakh or simple imprisonment which may extend to one year or with both.
Currently the section reads as: "Whoever undertakes any work or development in contravention of the regional plan as in force, shall be punished with fine which may extend to ₹1-lakh.
Further the Act also seeks to increase from ₹1-lakh to ₹10-lakh the fine for hill cutting and land filling without permission from the Chief Town Planner while the provision of simple imprisonment for a period of one year remains.
Further the Bill also seeks to amend section 49 of the Town and Country Planning Act which makes it mandatory for obtaining a NOC from the Town and Country Planning Department before the sale of land in a bid to control the unauthorized subdivision of land in non-planning areas.
Earlier the NOC termed as the 49-6 NOC was mandatory only for planning areas or PDAs.
The amendments were earlier resolved at a meeting of the Town and Country Planning Board.
The Town and Country Planning Board, in late November decided to make an NOC from the Town and Country Planning department mandatory before anyone can buy or sell plots for residential purposes hitherto applicable only in PDA areas to all over the state.
The NOC, referred to as the 49-6 NOC, was hitherto only applicable to lands in areas falling within the control of Outline Development Plans, will now be applicable across the state, and without the document, which indicates whether the land is zoned as settlement, the sale deed will not be allowed to be taken forward.
"To act as a deterrent for further conversion and sale of orchard properties, plots under orchard land we are making 49-6 NOC for sale applicable for the whole state of Goa. At the moment the 49-6 is only applicable to planned areas i.e PDA areas," Sardesai had said.
All the changes suggested by the Town and Country Planning Board would need changes in the Town and Country Planning Act to increase the penalty for building in land other than settlement land from the ₹1-lakh to ₹10-lakh with the possibility of one year imprisonment.
The other bill -- the Goa Tax on Infrastructure (Amendment) Bill, 2017 seeks to add an exemption to "housing for locals under the government scheme" from paying infrastructure tax.
Infrastructure Tax was enacted for levying tax for providing infrastructure required for development which included potable water, electricity and other amenities. The amendment, if passed, will exempt smaller constructions for independent units for domestic purpose for a built up area of 100m2 and the rate of tax levied to ₹200 per square metre of built up area.
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Govt working to give clear titles to Alvara
occupants: Amendment bill tabled

PANAJI: Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte tabled the Goa Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Bill, 2017 which, if passed, will fulfill a long pending demand of occupants of Alvara land by giving them clear titles to the property.
Back in 2016, the Goa Cabinet under the chairmanship of then Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar decided to regularise ‘alvara' lands granted as aframentos (leases) to various persons for the purpose of agriculture back in the year 1917 by allowing the occupants to be owners of the lands on payment of a certain fee.
The history of the land goes back to the year 1917 when the Portuguese government promulgated a decree No. 3602 dated 24.11.1917 allowing allotment of lands on lease mainly for agricultural purposes. They were subsequently declared as occupants (Class II).
The lease agreements provided for cancellation of the lease for non-compliance of the conditions such as the land being kept fallow or non-payment of rent called ‘foro', etc.
Now through the present amendment bill, the government will allow the occupants to confirm their title over the land if they make an application in the prescribed form to the Collector within a period of six months from the date of commencement of the amended Act, provided all the conditions laid down in the decree of 1917 were complied with.
The Collector will then verify the documents and and after conducting an inquiry submit his/her report to the government stating as to whether the applicant has a definitive title to the land occupied.
The Government may then after considering the report either approve or reject it and in the event the government finds that the applicant has a definitive title to the land, it may direct the collector to issue a certificate of confirmation of the definitive title to the applicant.
The Bill also provides for the government the powers to relax the six month period, if it is satisfied that the applicant could not apply for reasons beyond his control.
To those whose applications are rejected, the government has provided for regularization of their occupancy on payment of a prescribed fee within 30 days.
Further, if on receiving a title, if an occupant wishes to sell the land, he/she can do so through giving the government 10% of the value of the land or the sale proceeds whichever is higher.
Audit findings
A pathbreaking audit conducted by the office of the Accountant General of Goa, of government revenue lands leased to individuals for the purpose of agriculture by the Portuguese regime back in 1917 has found large scale sale of government land by leaseholders in contravention of the lease deeds.
The audit report, had also found that as much as 35% of these lands shows the leaseholder registered as an occupant in the record or rights instead of the Government of Goa, 88.12 hectares of these lands being sold to third parties without any regularisation.
Even in cases where the land has been reverted back to the Government of Goa, the leaseholder has sold the land to the third party. 43.62 hectares of such land has been sold through such means.
Further in the case of 125.26 hectares of land which has been reverted to the government the record of rights has not been updated and continues to be shown in the leaseholders name.
A total of 16,616.84 hectares of land were leased by the erstwhile regime under the 1917 decree.

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