Margao: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Friday warned mamlatdars and panchayats against initiating demolition proceedings against any house that has applied for regularisation under the Mhaje Ghar scheme.“This is a strict instruction to mamlatdars and panchayats: do not initiate demolition proceedings against any house whose application under the Mhaje Ghar scheme is being processed, regardless of which authority issues the demolition order. Govt is taking full responsibility for this. You will not be held to task,” Sawant said during a live interaction session on the Mhaje Ghar Yojana for Kushavati district.The chief minister said only one category of houses, those built on comunidade land, has been challenged in court, while the rest of the scheme is undisputed. “We will defend the scheme up to Supreme Court. We will win the case, 100%,” he said.Sawant encouraged people whose houses stand on Comunidade land to apply under the scheme even without obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the comunidade. “Notices may be sent to the comunidade later through speed post,” he said.Earlier, Kushavati district collector Gurudas Dessai told govt officials and panchayat members on the procedure for processing applications under the scheme.Sawant said helpdesks will be set up at the offices of the deputy collectors and panchayats to help people apply. He told officials not to obstruct the regularisation of eligible houses recorded in pre-1972 survey plans, and urged panchayat and revenue officials to ensure effective implementation of the scheme. He said 20,000 applications have been received so far, and around 3,500 houses have been regularised.Applications for house repairs need not be placed before panchayat body meetings, nor is the sarpanch’s approval required, Sawant said. “Let the panchayat secretary deal with the applications. It’s a government programme,” he said.The CM said that the success of the scheme has prompted Maharashtra govt to introduce a similar scheme to regularise houses built on govt land.Sawant, along with revenue minister Atanasio Monserrate, also launched Goa special courts in all 12 talukas to expedite pending matters relating to tenancy, mundkarial rights, partition, mutation and the Mhaje Ghar scheme. Offices of deputy collectors, mamlatdars, survey department and panchayats will remain open for the public from 9am to 5pm on Saturdays until Dec to facilitate issuance of required documents for the purpose.
