In the background of the by-poll of the Ponda Assembly constituency being cancelled by the High Court, Dr Justice Ferdino Rebello, Convenor of ‘Enough is Enough’ movement, has demanded that the Assembly session be reconvened to discuss the comprehensive bill on land protection.
The budget session of March was abruptly adjourned earlier, under the pretext of the Ponda by-election announced by the Election Commission of India.
Till the bill is discussed in the Assembly and passed, the government should also stop granting any further permissions to convert the green land to settlement under Section 39A of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act.
Justice Rebello had drafted a comprehensive bill, called the Goa Protection of Agricultural Lands bill 2026, and had submitted to the presidents of all the political parties and independent MLAs represented in the Goa Assembly. Accordingly, some of the opposition MLAs had moved the bill during the budget session in March.
The proposed legislation focuses on several critical areas:
• Repeal of provisions like Section 39 that allow conversion or misuse of agricultural land
• Amendments to Section 17A to restrict construction only for genuine public purposes and under strict conditions
• Restricting sale of agricultural land only to long-term residents of Goa (minimum 30 years)
• Ensuring that agricultural land is used strictly for farming purposes.
