Panaji, Jul 17 (TOI): With land acquisitions in Goa coming to a standstill since the central government's Land Acquisition Act, chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar has lamented that development in the state is badly affected because of the land acquisition issue.
Talking to TOI, he said he raised the issue at the Niti Aayog meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday and explained how a small state like Goa with scarce land, is unable to go ahead with land acquisition.
"Small states like Goa should be given a free hand to enact our own land acquisition law so that development doesn't suffer," Parsekar said.
He said that if there is no consensus over the land acquisition at the Centre, then Goa should be allowed to frame its own law so that development is not derailed further.
Parsekar said the proposed prestigious IIT project is also affected as "under the given circumstances, we are unable to acquire land for the project".
Stating that development has come to a standstill, Parsekar said that he was not referring to mega projects but projects like road widening, educational projects. He said the provision in the central land acquisition that 80% of the landowners should give consent for land acquisition is wrong.
He hoped that consensus would emerge and the opposition would support the amendments to the land bill.
Goa deputy chief minister Francis D'Souza, who is also the revenue minister, told TOI that Goa has adopted the new land acquisition act since it was passed about a year ago. Also, all pending land acquisitions were shifted to the new Act but since rules have not been framed, all land acquisitions are on hold. Besides, with uncertainty prevailing over the central Act and with indications that it may be modified, Goa is going slow on the land acquisitions, D'Souza, said.
When asked when the rules would be framed, D'Souza said that if the Act is going to be modified, then there is no point formulating the rules. "We have to wait for the central Act. Whatever land acquisition procedures we had initiated, these are moving slowly but not in a big way. In the new Act, you can process land acquisitions by doing social impact assessment studies where projects for defence, railways, etc. are involved. These have been given exemptions. But we don't such projects," D'Souza said.
He said that the government has received a proposal from the South Western Railways for land acquisition for broadening of railway lines. "We are debating on how to go about it and public consultancy on that is ongoing. From Londa to Margao, there is no problem. But from Margao to Vasco, there are public objections especially in Cansaulim area because the local MLA says there are lots of heritage houses and other houses along the route," D'Souza said.
Also, the Union ministry for human resources development has requested for about 300 acres of land for setting up the IIT. The government is now searching for government-owned land so that it may directly allot the land and no land acquisition procedures are involved, officials said.
Sources in the office of the North Goa collectorate said that over 20 proposals from various departments were returned due to the impasse. Some of the land acquisition proposals include land for construction of tail end escape of right bank main canal of the Tillari irrigation project in Dhargal village; land for construction of bridge at Camurlim to Tuem; land for expansion of industrial estate at Shiroda and access road at Shiroda (phase 1), land for construction of Salvador-do-Mundo to Madel church (Chodan) bridge, land for construction of Pilgao Narve distributory of Sanquelim branch of left bank main canal of Tillari irrigation project in Narao, Vaiguinim and Mayem villages of Bicholim taluka; land for setting up industrial estate at Sirsaim, etc.