Despite objections from Revenue, Finance Departments, Goa government went ahead with land ownership Bill: RTI

The State Assembly last month passed the Goa Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill, 2021.

The Goa Revenue and Finance Departments had red flagged the controversial Bill pertaining to ‘sons-of-the-soil’ and said it was “not administratively approved” and may have “unforeseen wider ramification”, before it was passed by the State Assembly last month, the government’s response to an RTI query has revealed. The State Assembly last month passed the Goa Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill, 2021, that provides a mechanism to grant the ownership rights to ‘bhumiputras’ (sons-of-the soil) who are living in small housing units in the State for more than 30 years. The legislation in its present form drew flak from various quarters, including Opposition parties, following which Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said it would be renamed as the ‘Bhumi Adhikarini Bill’ and reintroduced during the next Assembly session.