Team Goemkarponn
Chicalim: In a significant development in the ongoing row over regularisation of unauthorised constructions, the comunidades of Chicalim and Chicolna on Sunday became the first to extend support to the Goa Regularisation of Unauthorised Construction (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (ROUCAB).
The bill, which seeks to regularise dwelling houses built on comunidade land before February 28, 2014, has faced stiff opposition across Goa, with several comunidades preparing to challenge it in the Supreme Court. However, the two South Goa comunidades said the move would provide relief to Goan families who built homes on comunidade land while also generating a steady revenue stream.
At a joint press conference, Chicolna comunidade president Esther Sankhwalkar said both comunidades had long recognised the need for regularisation. “We resolved to regularise such houses even before the government brought the amendment. The land is encroached, but by fellow Goans—almost 80 percent. Regularisation as per the notification is most welcome, since it brings revenue and restores land to the comunidade,” she said.
Chicalim comunidade attorney Manuel Dias noted that many of the houses in question are decades old. “Most have existed for 40–45 years, well before 2014. These houses were not built overnight, and present attorneys cannot be held responsible. The bill will ensure revenues that can raise dividends for members,” he said, urging the government to grant comunidades direct powers to prevent fresh encroachments.
Both leaders criticised earlier selective enforcement and recalled unsuccessful demolition drives and lengthy legal battles. “We carried out demolitions, filed cases, and even challenged government notifications, but nothing worked. Decades later, the land remains encroached, revenue is lost, and locals live in miserable conditions,” Sankhwalkar said, adding that surveys showed around 700–800 illegal houses in Chicalim and about 30 in Chicolna.
Framing their decision as a “one-time humanitarian approach,” the comunidades said regularisation would help locals, including the poor and handicapped, while ensuring revenue and land recovery.
The support from Chicalim and Chicolna marks the first sign of backing for ROUCAB 2025, even as many other comunidades continue to strongly oppose the bill and prepare for a legal fight.
