The Goa Regularisation of Unauthorized Construction Act, 2016

1. Short title, extent and commencement. —(1) This Act may be called the Goa Regularisation of Unauthorized Construction Act, 2016. (2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Goa. (3) It shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from the 24th day of June, 2016.

2. Definitions. — In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— (a) “authorised officer” means a officer as authorised under sub-section (1) of the section 3; (b) “Competent Authority” means the authority competent to issue sanad, permission/licence, no objection certificate, or any other document for carrying out construction under the relevant Act; (c) “Government” means the Government of Goa; (d) “Official Gazette” means the Official Gazette of the Government; (e) “Local Authority” means the Corporation of the City of Panaji, Municipal Council, Village Panchayat and includes the Planning and Development Authority; (f) “relevant Act” means,— (i) the Goa Land Revenue Code, 1968 (Act No. 9 of 1969); or (ii) the Goa, Daman and Diu Town and Country Planning Act, 1974 (Act No. 21 of 1975); or (iii) the City of Panaji Corporation Act, 2002 (Goa Act 1 of 2003); or (iv) the Goa Municipalities Act, 1968 (Act No. 7 of 1969); or (v) the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (Goa Act No. 14 of 1994); or (vi) the Goa (Regulation of Land Development and Building Construction) Act,2008 (Goa Act 6 of 2008); or (vii) any other State law which regulates the construction in the State, and the rules, regularisation, bye-laws, notifications and orders issued thereunder; (g) “State” means the State of Goa; (h) “unauthorized construction” means any construction which has been carried out before the 28th day of February, 2014, in the State of Goa, without obtaining sanad, permission/licence, no objection certificate or any other documents from the Competent Authority under the relevant Acts.

3. Regularisation of unauthorized construction.— (1) Any person who has carried out unauthorized construction in the property specified herein below before the 28th day of February, 2014, may make an application in Form I hereto together with application fee in the form of Court fee stamp of rupees five, documents specified in Schedule I hereto, sketch of the structure proposed to be regularized along with dimensions to the officer as may be authorised by the Government by Notification in the Official Gazette, not below the rank of Junior Scale Officer of Goa Civil Service, for regularisation of such unauthorized construction, within a period of 1[210 days] from the date of coming into force of this Act: [ 2 (a) any residential, commercial or residential cum commercial unauthorized construction in applicants own property, or in a property jointly held by the applicant with other co-owners.”;] (b) any unauthorized construction of a dwelling house by the applicant who is declared/registered as mundkar under the provisions of the Goa, Daman and Diu Mundkars (Protection from Eviction) Act,1975 (Act No. 1 of 1976) or a farm house constructed by the applicant who is tenant or owner of an agricultural land. 3 [ “(c) any unauthorized construction by the applicant in undivided property jointly held by a unit of family or families.”;] (d) any unauthorized construction carried out by an institution or a person other than an individual in its property. (e) any unauthorized construction carried out by the applicant, in a property wholly owned by another person with the consent of such person. 4[(f) any unauthorized construction of a dwelling house carried out on a land belonging to a Comunidade in respect of which the officer authorized under clause (1) of article 372-B of the Legislative Diploma No. 2070 dated 15-4-1961, in its application to the State of Goa, has passed order of regularisation of such land. (g) any unauthorized construction of a dwelling house carried out on a land belonging to the Government or land granted by the Government in respect of which the Deputy Collector has passed order of regularisation of such land. (h) any unauthorized construction of a dwelling house carried out on a land granted by the Government under 20 Point Programme Scheme in respect of which the competent authority has granted Class I occupancy.] 5[] 6[Provided that the person who could not make application within above period may make such application within a period of thirty days from the date of coming into force of the Goa Regularisation of Unauthorized Construction (Amendment) Act, 2018.] 7[Provided further that the person who could not make application within a period as specified in the first proviso may make such application within a period of ninety days from the date of coming into force8 of the Goa Regularisation of Unauthorized Construction (Amendment) Act, 2023.] 9[Provided further that the person who could not make application within a period as specified in the third proviso may make such application within a period of ninety days from the date of coming into force of the Goa Regularisation of Unauthorized Construction (Third Amendment) Act, 2023]. 10[Provided further that the person,— (i) who could not make application within the period as specified in the fourth proviso; or (ii) whose application has been rejected by the authorized officer before the commencement of the Goa Regularisation of Unauthorized Construction (Amendment) Act, 2025, on any ground whatsoever, may make such application or fresh application, as the case may be, within a period of two years from the date of coming into force of the Goa Regularisation of Unauthorized Construction (Amendment) Act, 2025.] (2) The authorised officer shall issue acknowledgment to the applicant of having received the application under sub-section (1). (3) The authorised officer shall scrutinize the application received under sub-section (1) and after holding an enquiry, as he deems fit and conducting site inspection thereof and subject to payment by the applicant of charges, taxes, fees and penalty as determined by the authorised officer as per schedule II hereto, 11[grant a sanad under Section 32 of the Goa Land Revenue Code, 1968 (Act No. 9 of 1969) and pass an order of regularisation of such unauthorized construction”] 12[(4) The total built up area of the unauthorized construction which is proposed to be regularised including all floors thereof shall not exceed,— (i) 600 square meters, in case such construction is carried out within limits of any Village Panchayat, subject to the permissible F.A.R.; (ii) 1,000 square meters, in case such construction is carried out within limits of any Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation, subject to the permissible F.A.R., and such construction shall be meant for either personal residence, commercial purpose, commercial cum residential purpose or institutional purpose of the applicant.”; ] (5) The authorised officer shall not entertain any application under sub-section (1), if the unauthorized construction falls within the limits of the protected forest, area declared as a wild life sanctuary, [area covered under the Coastal regulation zone where such construction has been carried out after the 19th day of February, 1991], No Development Zone, open spaces, public land, ,13[areas covered under Eco Sensitive Zone-I, areas other than orchard land or cultivable land covered under Eco Sensitive Zone-II], Khazan land, any construction prohibited under the Goa Land(Prohibition on Construction) Act, 1995, (Goa Act No. 20 of 1995), road set back or right of way or any construction which causes obstruction to any natural water channel or any structure which is constructed by filling water bodies or any construction in or for scrap yard. 14[Explanation. — (i) “Eco Sensitive Zone-I” means Eco Sensitive Zone-I as classified in Regional Plan 2021.” (iii) “Eco Sensitive Zone-II” means Eco Sensitive-II as classified in Regional Plan 2021]; 15[Provided that the authorized officer may entertain any application under sub-section (1), if the unauthorized construction falls within the limits of the area covered under Settlement Zone, Institutional Zone or Industrial Zone, Cultivable Zone, ORCHARD.] 16[Provided further that where there is no required access of three meters to the unauthorized construction, the authorized officer shall entertain an application under sub-section (1) for regularisation of unauthorized construction if the applicant undertakes to make such access available within a period of five years by submitting an undertaking to that effect.]; 17[(6) The authorised officer shall not entertain an application or proceed with regularisation process of unauthorized construction where the title or ownership of any property/land upon which unauthorized construction has been carried out, is subject matter of a dispute before any Court, Tribunal or any Statutory Authority and such Court, Tribunal or Statutory Authority has passed an injunction or granted status quo or any prohibitory order against such property/land or construction. (7) Where the title or ownership of any property/land upon which unauthorized construction has been carried out, is subject matter of a dispute before any Court, Tribunal or any Statutory Authority but no such injunction or status quo or any prohibitory order is granted against such property/land or construction by such Court, Tribunal or Statutory Authority and the authorised officer passes any order of regularization of unauthorized construction under this Act, such order shall be subject to the decision of such Court or Tribunal or Statutory Authority. 18 [(7A) Where the authorized officer passes an order under this Act for regularisation of unauthorized construction in a property jointly held by the applicant with other co-owners as referred in clause (a) of sub- section (1), without the written consent of all such co-owners, such order shall be subject to the order or judgment that may be passed by the competent Civil Court in a suit or other legal proceeding that may be initiated by the aggrieved co-owner. (7B) Where the authorized officer passes an order under this Act for regularisation of unauthorized construction in a property jointly held by the applicant with other members of the unit of family or families as referred in clause (c) of sub-section (1), without the written consent of all other members of such family or families, such order shall be subject to the order or judgment that may be passed by the competent Civil Court in a suit or other legal proceeding that may be initiated by the aggrieved any member of such family or families.”] (8) Notwithstanding anything contained in the relevant Act or in any contract, judgment, decree or order of any Court or any Statutory Authority or any instrument having the force of law, the authorized officer may, entertain an application under sub-section (1) and pass an order of regularisation of unauthorized construction under this Act and upon passing of such order of regularisation of unauthorized construction, such unauthorized construction shall be deemed to have been regularised under the relevant Act.]

4. Amendment of the Schedules.— The Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, add to, or omit from, or otherwise amend any entry of, the Schedules hereto and thereupon the Schedules shall be deemed to have been amended accordingly.

5. Grants to the Local authorities. — The Government shall upon receipt of the payments as specified in Schedule–II hereto make grants to the concerned local authorities in respect of charges, taxes and fees as per the said Schedule.

6. Duties of officers. — It shall be the duty of the Collector of the district and the Mamlatdar of every taluka, upon expiry of a period of 180 days from the date of coming into force of this Act, to identify such Constructions which are unauthorized or any part of it which is unauthorized and have not applied for regularisation within the said period and direct the competent authorities under the relevant Acts to take immediate action for demolition of such unauthorized constructions.

19[6A. Review of order.— (1) The authorized officer may either on his own motion or on application of any party interested, review any order passed by him or by any of his predecessors-in-office and pass such order in reference thereto as he thinks fit: Provided that the authorized officer shall before reviewing any order under this section, obtain the permission of the Collector. (2) No order shall be reviewed under this section without giving notice to the other party and no application for review of such order shall be entertained unless filed within a period of one year from the date of such order: Provided that the authorized officer shall not, on his own motion, review any order under this section after expiry of period of six months from the date of such order: Provided further that no application for review shall be entertained if an appeal against the said order has already been filed or decided under Section 7 of this Act. (3) No order shall be reviewed except on the following grounds, namely:— (i) discovery of new and important matter or evidence which, after the exercise of due diligence was not within the knowledge of the applicant or could not be produced by him at the time when the order was passed or order made; or (ii) some mistake or error apparent on the face of the record; or (iii) any other sufficient reason.]

20[7. Appeals.— (1) Any person aggrieved by an order passed by the authorised officer may prefer an appeal to the Government. (2) Every appeal under this Act shall be filed within a period of sixty days from the date of the order of the authorised officer and the provisions of sections 4, 5, 12 and 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 (Central Act 36 of 1963), shall apply to the filing of such appeal].

8. Protection of action taken in good faith.—No suit, prosecution or any other legal proceedings shall lie against the authorised officer for anything which is done in good faith or intended to be done under this Act.

9. Power to remove difficulties. — If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may, by general or special order published in the Official Gazette, make such provision consistent with the provisions of this Act as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of removing difficulty.

10. Repeal and saving. — (1) The Goa Regularisation of Unauthorized Construction Ordinance, 2016 (Ordinance No. 2 of 2016) is hereby repealed. (2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken under this Act.