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Give us back what's ours...
HOMES BACK FINALLY?
A large number of Goans settled abroad, who've rented out
their ancestral homes, have been left stranded, unable to get
the tenants evicted. VITHALDAS HEGDE in the Weekend tracks
the progress on the legislation aimed at making it easier to
get homes back for these non-resident Goans and finds out
that it could be enacted very soon.
--
NON-RESIDENT Indians (NRIs) from Goa will soon be able to get
back possession of their homes or buildings from tenants, as
the state government has decided to re-introduce the Goa
Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control (Amendment) Bill.
The Bill seeks to amend Section 23 A of the Act by
inserting a new sub-section (3B) to protect the
property rights of the NRIs and to enable them to
recover possession of their premises when they have
bonafide reasons for their own occupation or for
any member of their family.
The Bill was introduced by Revenue Minister Jose Philip
D'Souza in the Goa Legislative Assembly on March 24 last, but
was referred to a Select Committee.
The Select Committee, headed by D'Souza as chairman, consists
of Parliamentary Secretaries Francis Silveira and Nilkant
Halarnkar, leader of the Opposition Manohar Parrikar and MLAs
Agnelo Fernandes, Laxmikant Parsekar and Aleixo Reginaldo
Lourenco.
The Committee met only once, on October 24, 2008, and decided
to elicit written comments from its members besides public
opinion and views of the Commissioner for NRI Affairs and
others concerned.
It was decided to incorporate salient features from similar
legislations enacted by other states.
According to Secretary (Legislature) R Kothandaraman, there
were not many comments from the general public.
Provisions of the proposed legislation require an NRI to make
an application to the Rent Controller, who will then pass an
order for eviction of the tenant based on the application
supported by a certificate from the concerned District
Magistrate, confirming the NRI status of the applicant and
that he now wants to reside in the state.
The District Magistrate would issue the certificate based on
an affadavit sworn by the NRI before the competent authority,
to the effect that besides fulfilling the requirement that he
does not possess any other suitable residence in the area.
The Goa Cabinet had earlier approved the amendment
to the Goa Building (Lease, Rent and Eviction)
Control Act, 1968, on December 10, 2007. But when
opinion of the Law Department was sought, it opined
that if the Cabinet decision is implemented, it
would be a violation of Article 14 of the
Constitution.
The Cabinet also deliberated on the East Punjab Urban Rent
Restriction (Amendment) Act, 2001, which stipulates that the
beneficiary NRI should reside in the retrived premises for a
fixed, minimum number of years before disposing it either by
way of sale or renting it out again.
The Punjab Act stipulates that NRIs of Punjabi origin who
recover possession of a building under the Act, he or she
shall not transfer it through sale or any other means or let
it out again, before a five-year period from the date of
taking possession.
Violation of this requirement will entitle the evicted tenant
to repossession of the building.
WHAT THEY SAY: Eduardo Faleiro, Commissioner of NRI Affairs
The reason for the legislation is that a perion who after
working abroad plans to return home, he has no other roof
over his head. During my visit to Punjab a few years ago, I
met then then Chief Minister Capt Amrinder Singh, who told me
about this useful Act called the East Punjab Urban Rent
Restriction (Amendment) Act, implemented there.
The Act was challenged by a Punjab resident in the Supreme
Court, who upheld its validity by a judgement in October
2005, justifying why NRIs should get the benefit of summary
trial.
I gave a copy of the Punjab Act to the Goa government, so
that there is no problem while drafting the Bill. The embargo
in the Punjab Act is also justified since the purpose of the
legislation is for the NRI's own occupation.
The NRGs had been making representations from time
to time about the lack of a suitable legislation to
protect their property rights in Goa in their
absence. This Act will help them in protecting
their rights in Goa, especially in property-related
matters.
WHAT THEY SAY: Jose Philip D'Souza, Revenue Minister
After I introduced the bill in the Legislative Assembly, it
was referred to a Select Committee. The Select Committee met
only once and decided to seek comments and views from the
public.
We may convene another meeting soon and take a final decision
since I intend to re-introduce the Bill in the oncoming
session of the Goa Assembly.
Though the Punjab government has passed a similar Act with an
embargo on sale of the recovered property for a five-year
period, we may curtail this to three years. I think five
years is a long time, whether the owner sells his property or
now.
FEEDBACK TO:
Eduardo Faleiro:
lokseva...@rediffmail.com
+91-9890893111
Jose Philip D''Souza
+91-9822131104 or
+91-9922941761
Francis Silveira
+91-9822168092
Nilkant Halarnkar
+91-9822156083
+91-832-2257035
Manohar Parrikar
manoharparri...@yahoo.co.in
+91-9822131213
Agnelo Fernandes
+91-9822100510
Laxmikant Parsekar
+91-9822129088
Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco.
+91-9822485327
Secretary (Legislature) R Kothandaraman, there
+91-9765002222
COURTESY: Gomantak Times, Jan 11, 2009
