MAPUSA: Aldona Congress MLA Adv. Carlos Alvares Ferreira on Monday said that he was not opposed to providing relief to people living with the fear of their houses being termed illegal, but maintained that the law in its present form does not offer true relief to the people.He was speaking at a function held at the Village Panchayat Hall, Nachinola, under the Government’s माझे घर (Mhaje Ghar) Yojana, which aims to provide rightful ownership of homes to citizens. The programme, held on Monday witnessed the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant, who distributed forms under the scheme, and Union Minister of State for Tourism and Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Shripad Naik.Addressing the gathering, Adv. Ferreira raised questions over why the forms being distributed were numbered.“I can see that the forms being distributed are numbered. The law has no provision that numbered forms be issued. These numbers can be used to track applicants based on who was issued which form, which implies an opportunity for corruption,” he said.He further added, “I can understand if forms are being sold by the Printing Press Department for a fee. But in this case, forms should be given to everyone, and people should also be allowed to download the form from the website, print it, and submit it.”Adv. Ferreira also raised the issue of discrimination against small farmers, urging the Chief Minister to consider a one-time exception for them.“In Goa, we have small farmers who have built houses on their own farmland. The law provides for construction of farmhouses, but that is currently only applicable to large landholdings and is being misused by the rich. Our request to the Chief Minister is to extend this benefit to small farmers as well. Our farms are not like those in Punjab or Haryana,” he said.Concluding his address, Adv. Ferreira cautioned citizens against falling prey to agents who may demand money for processing forms under the Mhaje Ghar Yojana.“If there are people asking for money, please report it to me or to any official,” he urged.He also spoke about the bad condition of Aldona-Corjuem bridge railings which needs replacement and expediting Aldona market reconstruction.
Opposed regularisation law in its present form, not against relief to illegal homeowners: Adv Carlos
