PANJIM: The one-man commission, headed by Retd Justice of Bombay High Court V K Jadhav on Wednesday submitted its report on the land grabbing cases in the coastal State to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at Altinho, Panjim.
The report was submitted 10 months after the constitution of the commission by the State government. The Commission had started the investigation in January this year.
Speaking to reporters after submitting the report, Justice (Rtd) Jadhav said the entire process was completed in a ‘record-time’.
Refusing to divulge further details, he said with the submission of the report, the ball now lies in the court of the government.
“I have submitted the report. Now the ball is in the court of the government,” Justice (Rtd) Jadhav said.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the report has been passed on to the State Chief Secretary Puneet Goel and the Advocate General Devidas Pangam for further action.
Sawant said it was a great achievement for him in his tenure as Chief Minister. “I have discussed with the AG how no man’s land can be reclaimed by the government. Nobody can be allowed to sell those lands. An inquiry will be initiated against the seven scamsters who were arrested earlier on charges of land grabbing.”
Stating that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has given hits as to who were involved in the land grabbing cases, Sawant warned that nobody will be spared. If the land is not claimed then it would be sold by the scamsters. Now it will not be possible to sell land of Goans by somebody else.
No man’s land refers to properties that had been left unclaimed by their owners, the Chief Minister clarified and said those who were out of the country will be given a time-frame to reclaim their land.
Sawant said he has directed the Chief Secretary to initiate a process to identify such properties and bring them under government’s control. He also mentioned the possibility of providing a specific time-frame for individuals to claim their properties.
Sawant has directed the officials concerned to thoroughly go through the findings of the report and put up the action plan for its effective implementation. It is expected that this report will be a catalyst in forming the robust administrative set up in the administration of immovable properties in the State. The State government is committed to punish the offenders and prevent any further land grabbing instances. Findings of this report will go a long way in protecting the interest of innocent people of Goa, he said.
As instances of many land grabbing cases surfaced in August last year, the government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Branch for investigating the cases last year. The SIT registered 111 cases of land grab involving 93 parcels of land and properties measuring 1.5 lakh square metres across the State.
Later, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, upon nomination received from Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, appointed Justice V K Jadhav, former Judge of High Court of Bombay, as Chairman of the Commission for inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952.
The commission was expected to inquire into the land grab instances, find out involvement of persons in such acts. The commission was also expected to find out the loopholes in the existing legal framework related to administration of immovable property in Goa and to recommend any amendments in the existing administrative set up for better management of immovable property in the State of Goa.
A statement from the government said that the Chief Minister has directed the concerned officials to thoroughly go through the findings of the report and put up the action plan for its effective implementation.
Meanwhile, Advocate General Devidas Pangam hinted that the commission has suggested how to stop land grabbing and how to take the land back.
“I have not been able to read the report now. It is voluminous. The commission has done a very nice work within a time bound manner. Let the government take a call on it. The government has to accept the report. It has suggested how to stop land grabbing and how to restore it back to the victims,” AG Pangam told O Heraldo.
Delayed justice leaves land grab victims worried
Claim government has washed its hands off without giving due importance to these cases as there is no major update or progress in the matter
MAPUSA: The one-man commission may have submitted its report to the government on the land grabbing cases, however, the long delay in getting justice has left the victims worried, who claim that with no major update or progress in the cases, the government has washed its hands off without giving due importance to these cases.
It may be recalled that in August 2022, the one-man commission was constituted to hear the land grabbing cases; however, the office of the commission was made functional in January 2023.
The duty of the commission is to recommend changes to the systems pertaining to the land ownership, sale and to fix the responsibility in all the land grabbing cases involving private and any other land in Goa. Its duty also includes pointing out the involvement of government officers and any other public functionaries.
The commission will recommend to the government the steps, measures, and actions to change the administrative system and legal framework to prevent such land grabbing cases in future and suggest necessary changes in law.
The victims of land grab had welcomed the forming of commission and inquiry into the land grabbing cases as they believed that the same would help fast track the inquiry process.
However, the victims now say there is no major update or progress in the matter as they claim that justice has been delayed.
They claim that forming the commission, the government has washed its hands off from the matter without giving due importance to the seriousness of the land grabbing cases.
Ashley Monteiro, the power of attorney of Anacleto Monteiro said, “It’s been over a year-and-a-half since the issue came to light and complaints were filed and registered, however there is no progress from the Special Investigation Team since the time the commission was set up. The government too has not taken this matter seriously and by setting up a commission and has washed its hands off. People in power have self vested interests, blind sightings and are influencing/ suppressing the investigation and stretching out the time.”
“We still wait for justice and only ask that properties be reverted back to their original and genuine owners and that all fake and fraudulent deeds be declared null and void and subsequently the illegal transactions of sale or mutations be termed as null and void,” Monteiro demanded.
“The authorities are well aware of the fact that there are victims including senior citizens, the sick and others, having family responsibilities to cater to as well, but they are taking advantage of the situation,” Monteiro said.
“All the accused are roaming freely as they are well backed in this crime as such a massive scale of scam is not possible without the blessings of the influential and those in power, while the actual owners are struggling to get back their properties. Formation of SIT is just to assure the public that the government has taken action, however, its intention was never to provide justice but to derail the investigation process. One can understand the way the honest investigating officers are transferred,” charged another victim.
Adv Christina Dias, who is representing some of the victims of land grabbing from Assagao, said, “The inquiry by the one-man commission is complete and the commission will submit its report to the government. Since one-and-a-half years, we have been helping our villagers to get back their land. But everything has to a standstill. Initially, the government acted only after media reports. SIT was formed, a commission was appointed to give recommendations to the government with regard to land grab cases. When the inquiry commission was formed, 44 FIRs were handed over to the commission. What is depressing is that there is no reply on the other complaints filed from various victims across Goa.”
“There is no report as to what happened to the appointment of a special tribunal in these cases. The government has failed to provide any conclusive answer as to what will happen to the properties after the report is submitted to them,” Adv Dias said.
She questioned: What will happen to those properties which are not before the commission of inquiry? Are SIT officials really interested in filing a charge sheet?
Will additional investigating officers be appointed following the transfer of honest officers, who were close to arresting more accused? The transfer of honest officials such as DySP Bras Menezes, PIs Suraj Samant and Sunil Parab haunts me. Is some force trying to shield the accused?”
Adv Christina questioned: “Why is the employee from the Mapusa Sub Registrar, who helped the accused, still roaming freely? Why was no arrest made in this regard? Why has the Income Tax Department failed to act when properties are sold for a huge sum by the same person time and again? When will the victims get justice?