North Indians misused Goa land laws to build farmhouses: Minister

Panaji, Oct 5 (IANS) North Indian investors used a loophole to convert small tracts of land in Goa to build farmhouses where no farms exist in reality, Goa's Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai said on Friday.

Sardesai said that the state was planning to make green buildings compulsory for major construction projects in the coming months.

"People would take 4000 sq metre plot and build a house there. And I don't want to make a reference to Delhi, but many people incidentally from north India had used this facility to have farmhouses by sub-dividing means. Actually, it has nothing to do with the farms," Sardesai said at a function organised by Indian Green Building Council in the state capital.

"At least around two crore square metres of (orchard) land was illegally divided into plots for settlement purposes. Now this is causing, if you will (call it) doomsday scenario of ghetto-isation of Goa. So, we have prevented this," Sardesai said, adding that the BJP-led coalition government in Goa had managed to up the minimum sub-division area from 4,000 sq metres to 20000 sq metres to avoid misuse of land to fradulently build farmhouses.

Sardesai said that the state government was committed to keeping Goa green and hence all major construction projects in Goa from next year will have to feature green buildings.

"I am making it compulsory. Compulsory means nobody can escape it. You have to go green, otherwise you do not get to build. As simple as that. And this is not for the common man. This is only for projects. You (builders) either follow this way, or you do not come to Goa," Sardesai said.