Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has issued strict directions to Panchayats and municipalities to complete the regularisation of houses constructed before 1972 within three days, warning of action against officials who delay the process or violate government instructions under the Mhaje Ghar scheme.
In a move aimed at removing procedural hurdles, Sawant directed Deputy Collectors to issue Sanad certificates on the same day or the following day, while Panchayat Secretaries must issue house regularisation certificates without insisting on a Panchayat resolution or the Sarpanch’s signature.
The Chief Minister said the government would not tolerate unnecessary delays in implementing the scheme and urged officials to ensure that eligible beneficiaries receive the required certificates within the stipulated timeframe.
Reassuring officials over the legal status of the Mhaje Ghar scheme, Sawant said the government was prepared to defend the law up to the Supreme Court.
He clarified that only one matter concerning comunidade land had been challenged in court and expressed confidence in the government’s position, asking officials not to allow the litigation to obstruct implementation.
Alongside the regularisation drive, the government has launched Special Courts across all 12 talukas to expedite land-related cases, including tenancy, mundkarial, partition, mutation and Mhaje Ghar matters. Collectors, Deputy Collectors, Mamlatdars and other officials will conduct hearings every Saturday beginning November 14.
Highlighting the significance of Goa’s housing regularisation initiative, Sawant also said Maharashtra had enacted a law to regularise houses built on government land, following Goa’s Mhaje Ghar model.
The government’s latest directions signal a push to translate the Mhaje Ghar scheme into faster delivery of regularisation certificates, with accountability now placed on local authorities and revenue officials.
