PANAJI
In this village -- currently making headlines due to the alleged illegal demolition of a house -- nearly 50 per cent of 2500-odd sale deeds executed in just four years have non-Goan owners.
Among these are not only businessmen but also film celebrities, politicians, ex-defense officers and their families who own properties in Assagao.
Not only this, foreign nationals and NRIs have also set their eyes on this once-serene village, becoming owners of a substantial area of land and ancient houses.
This influx of high-profile buyers has shot up land prices with plots smaller than 200 square meters now costing over Rs 1 crore.
Details obtained by The Goan reveal that several properties were purchased as recently as June. For instance, B-town actor Neha Dhupia purchased 833.62 square meters of property on June 20 at a cost of Rs 1.18 crore. Meanwhile, actor Pooja Bedi is a vendor for 174.59 square meters of property – registered in 2021 - which costs Rs 2.35 crore.
These are just two of the many celebrities owning properties and some even selling them to other non-Goans willing to pay inflated rates. As many as 2,475 sale deeds have been executed since 2020, with 194 executed in the first six months of this year alone.
In addition to reputed doctors, businessmen and influencers purchasing properties here; local politician, Calangute MLA Michael Lobo is a purchaser of two plots and is a confirming party in one sale deed executed on May 9, 2024. The two properties Lobo purchased at Rs 12.50 crore and Rs 7.50 crore, were registered in May 2024 and December 2023, respectively.
Vikrant Shetty, one of the accused in the land grab cases, is a vendor of land worth Rs 1.12 crores, registered in July 2021.
The data also reveals that 2,308 Indians are purchasers of plots and structures in Assagao. Among the foreign nationals, there are 39 Canadians, 42 British, 45 Americans, 16 Singaporeans, 6 New Zealanders, and 4 French nationals. Additionally, there are 1,305 vendors and 921 purchasers, with 281 from Delhi, 94 from Haryana, and 42 from Uttar Pradesh.
With several land fraud cases reported in Goa, Minister for Law & Judiciary Aleixo Sequeira has confirmed that the current legal framework outlined in the Registration Act does not empower the registration officers, sub registrars to verify the ownership title documents of the concerned party. “Hence it is impossible to ascertain the authenticity of the alleged fake sale deeds...However, the suspicious deeds are being referred to the SIT-Land Grab for investigation,” he said.
