Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Oct 27: Even as the ‘Mhaje Ghar’ housing scheme faces a legal test in the Bombay High Court at Goa, the State government has moved ahead with another major reform — the notification of the Goa Comunidade Land Development and Regulation Rules, 2025 — that could potentially reshape Goa’s rural and agrarian landscape.

Published in the State Gazette last week, the new rules allow Comunidades — traditional village bodies that own and manage community land — to collaborate directly with private developers through a competitive bidding process. This, officials say, will open up vast tracts of community land for housing and infrastructure development, particularly in the hinterlands.

According to the notification, the managing committee of a Comunidade can invite bids from developers, provided it approves the proportion of land to be developed. Importantly, the rules mandate that each Comunidade must retain at least 50 per cent of the plots, ensuring that community ownership remains central to the process.

Additionally, 20 per cent of the built-up area is to be reserved for affordable housing for Gaonkars or Jonoeiros — the traditional shareholders of the Comunidade — after allocating land for amenities such as roads, parks, and drainage. This clause, officials believe, safeguards native stakeholders while enabling planned development.

The framework includes strict compliance norms: developers must submit detailed proposals, begin work within three months of permission, and remain subject to inspection by the Comunidade. Projects that fail to meet standards can be rejected, though developers have the right to appeal.

Urban planners and builders have called the move “a game-changer,” saying it balances growth with traditional rights. “This is a structured and transparent way to unlock land potential without sidelining the Comunidades,” said a Panaji-based developer.

However, environmentalists have raised red flags. With Goa’s fragile coastal and green zones already under pressure, activists fear that large-scale private development could erode the ecological and cultural integrity of rural areas.

The government, for its part, insists that all projects must comply with existing environmental and planning regulations. As Comunidades begin exploring new partnerships, the coming months will determine whether the reforms usher in sustainable rural progress or fuel another round of ecological and social contention.