Paraiso and the issue of protecting property * By Srinivas Kamat During the Gomant Vishwa Sammelan, there was a briefing to the expat Goans and those residing outside the state, in which the chief minister said that NRI property in the State will be protected from settlers and a Trust formed to look after and maintain such property. But are such claims meaningful?
There is a residential building called the Paraiso De Goa adjacent to the NH17 in Alto Porvorim and near the old Porvorim market which in local parlance is known as the 'NRI Building'. It is one of those ill-conceived projects of the Government, set up at the height of the real estate prices in the early 1990s to exploit the NRI's intending to buy property in Goa. Such plans, of course, met an early death when the stock market went bust after the Harshad Mehta scam was exposed. The grandiose project involving a shopping multiplex, a commercial complex and residential apartments at the rear side was truncated. It ended up just as one residential apartment block of 64 flats. Some non-residents and expats -- apart from some hapless locals - have - bought flats in this project. At the time of booking, they were promised that the flats would be used exclusively for residential purposes. To the utter dismay and coming as a rude shock to those who had invested in the flats, over the last four to five months the government itself has been busy in accommodating their companies in the Paraiso De Goa complex for use as their offices. Here is a case where the Government claims it will protect NRI interests and property from settlers and is itself actively engaged in the task of encroaching on the property of NRIs. In this process, it is consciously flouting its commitments to the owners of these flats that the complex would be for residential use only. To give an example, the Kadamba Transport Corporation is in the process of moving into seven flats in the building after having broken down the walls to make it a large contiguous hall and designed as a modern office with air-conditioning by spending close to Rs. 1.5 crores. It is not understood how the Kadamba Transport, which itself is reeling under losses, can afford this kind of money for setting up an office. Here again, the agreements with the present owners specify that no structural changes can be done to the flats or the building which rule is being broken by the Kadamba Transport, a government corporation, in the flats they have taken and which are being extensively re-modified. The impact of these modifications on the structure and stability of the building is not known. The expat and non-resident's dreams for re-settling in Goa in the Paraiso de Goa flats expecting a serene, calm and secure residential ambience have been cruelly shattered by this intemperate and unilateral action. It is therefore important that all expats and non-residents do not take the government claims at face value but with a pinch of salt before they commit themselves in the State. -- The writer is based in Porvorim. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
