{"id":5480,"date":"2026-02-14T18:27:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T12:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gaonkaari.com\/?p=5480"},"modified":"2026-02-14T18:39:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T13:09:06","slug":"enough-is-enough-citizen-push-for-agricultural-land-protection-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gaonkaari.com\/mr\/enough-is-enough-citizen-push-for-agricultural-land-protection-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Enough is Enough: Citizens Push for Agricultural Land Protection Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"


Panaji: A strong call for safeguarding Goa\u2019s fragile environment and agricultural heritage has emerged with the submission of a Land Protection Bill draft prepared by retired Justice Ferdino Rebello. The draft, backed by the Enough is Enough movement, is being placed before leaders of all major political parties and independent MLAs, with the demand that it be discussed in the forthcoming Budget Assembly Session.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Why This Bill Matters<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


For decades, Goa\u2019s hills, rivers, and fertile fields have faced relentless pressure from construction and conversion. The draft bill seeks to put an end to unchecked permissions and restore accountability in land use. It is not just a legal document\u2014it is a manifesto for protecting Goa\u2019s natural legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Key Provisions of the Bill<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u2022 No more construction beyond settlement zones: The Bill halts new permissions outside the 526.31 sq. km settlement zone defined in Regional Plan 21.
\u2022 Stop illegal hill cutting: All permissions granted for cutting hills and slopes against the 2010 Chief Town Planner guidelines will be nullified.
\u2022 Public interest only: Cutting of slopes up to 25% gradient will be allowed strictly in public interest, with written reasons recorded by the Chief Town Planner.
\u2022 Reconsider past permissions: All approvals under Section 17(2) and 39(A) of the TCP Act will be reviewed against the Goa Land Use Act, 1991 and the Code of Comunidades, which prohibit conversion of tenanted agricultural land.
\u2022 Repeal Section 39(A): This controversial clause of the TCP Act will be scrapped.
\u2022 Protect paddy fields: Amendments will stop tenancy paddy fields from being converted into settlement zones or diverted under loopholes in the Land Revenue Code.
\u2022 New Section 22(A): Agricultural land cannot be transferred for non-agricultural purposes, nor to non-agriculturists. It can only be transferred to a Goan agriculturist, with a 30-year residency condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The Larger Vision<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


The Bill aims to bring transparency and accountability in land development, ensuring that non-agricultural projects conform strictly to the settlement zones. It seeks to protect Goa\u2019s hills, fields, and rivers from speculative conversion and unchecked urban sprawl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Citizen Movement<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


The draft has already been submitted to BJP leader Damu Naik, Congress President Amit Patkar, and AAP President Valmiki Naik. In the coming days, leaders of the movement will meet all other party heads. The demand is clear: debate this Bill in the Assembly and act before Goa\u2019s land is lost forever.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panaji: A strong call for safeguarding Goa\u2019s fragile environment and agricultural heritage has emerged with the submission of a Land Protection Bill draft prepared by retired Justice Ferdino Rebello. The…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-main-story"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaonkaari.com\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaonkaari.com\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaonkaari.com\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaonkaari.com\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaonkaari.com\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gaonkaari.com\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5482,"href":"https:\/\/gaonkaari.com\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5480\/revisions\/5482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaonkaari.com\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaonkaari.com\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaonkaari.com\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}