From Neil Rangel
That article is another reminder of the sorry state of Goa and the bleak future of Goans in their own land.
Anyone will have had a bad experience of tring to find reasonably priced land in Goa and the search very disheartening. One Goan landlady wrote back to me suggesting that I had rather not buy. The problem is with the landowning class in Goa: greed has overtaken them.As has been said, money makes the world go round..it certainly makes the Goan landowners go round and round. They prefer to sell land to outsiders at large sums but will never sell it to a fellow Goan for a reasonable amount.
The only way out of this mess is for our politicians to legislate that land be sold only to those of Goan origin. Thats unimaginable considering that the vast majority are in the real estate business and have made unimaginable sums of money selling land. Land has become unaffordable to the average Goan.Same with good quality food..the very curse brought on by tourism.
The real estate business in Goa is an easy way for people to convert black money to white.Goa may perhaps be the most corrupt state in the country.The agitation against foreign nationals buying land has more to do with the local corruption at every level that loses out..a foreigner usually does not "develop" the land..so every corrupt official loses out on whatever money they can make.
Off course in principle no foreigner should be allowed to purchase land.The situation will only get worse as time goes by and land becomes more scarce. Then they'll convert agricultural lands...Goa has been changed for the worse with unplanned unaesthetic constructions and garbage strewn all over the place..loads and loads of waste and plastic bags next to buildings and complexes. This is not Goa but Goabagge...
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