Panaji, Sep 9 (IANS): The Goa Law Commission has expressed dismay at the state government virtually ignoring all its recommendations, especially those relating to land reform.

"You can say that the constant neglect has disheartened me," the commission's chairman Ramakant Khalap told IANS after unveiling a draft legislation aimed at preventing real estate sharks from poaching on agricultural land for commercial purposes Thursday.

"Such a legislation is needed. Now it depends on the public to take it upon themselves to pressurise the government to make this draft legislation into law," he said.

"We have submitted 15 such draft legislations in reports to the government over the last two years to examine Goa's existing laws and suggest modifications. But none of these have been accepted," Khalap said. The three-member commission was appointed in 2009.

The draft legislations aimed at bringing about land reform in this small tourist state where the real estate market is booming.

"We must stop sale of agriculturists' land to non-agriculturists.

"In the absence of such a law in Goa, agricultural lands, especially orchard lands, are being purchased by rich Goans who keep such land fallow and unproductive for obvious speculative reasons," said Khalap, who was a former union minister of state for law.

Land norms in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and several other states ban the sale of agricultural land by non-agriculturists as a means of promoting agriculture as well as to safeguard land meant for crop production.