Poor turnout on Day One of NAKSHA land survey inquiry

MARGAO

The first day of the NAKSHA land survey inquiry for the Margao and Cuncolim municipal areas got off to a lukewarm start on Thursday, with only poor response from land and property owners.

The inquiry, being held at the Office of the Directorate of Settlement and Land Survey on the third floor of the Osia Commercial Building in the SGPDA Market Complex, Old market witnessed only a handful of residents from the two municipal areas turning up to verify their survey details.

The Directorate has appointed separate survey teams to conduct the NAKSHA inquiry for Margao and Cuncolim. Despite the survey covering thousands of households and properties across both urban local bodies, officials had anticipated a much larger public turnout.

According to sources, around 153 property owners from the Margao Municipal Council area attended the inquiry on the opening day, while the response from Cuncolim Municipal Council was comparatively poor, with only 83 people participating.

Officials, however, remain optimistic that participation will increase during the month-long inquiry. They pointed out that even as many property owners have yet to visit the inquiry centre, survey personnel engaged by the Directorate are continuing to collect forms directly from house and property owners in both municipal areas.

When asked about the consequences of poor public participation, officials said the department cannot compel people to attend the inquiry. “If property owners do not turn up for the inquiry, the ownership column in the digitised survey will be left blank. However, the digitised survey prepared under the NAKSHA project will still form part of the new land records compiled by the Directorate of Settlement and Land Survey,” an official said.

Land Survey official Savio said the latest NAKSHA survey marks a significant improvement over the government survey conducted in 1972.

“The earlier survey was carried out using measuring tapes, which left scope for errors. The present NAKSHA survey has been conducted using modern surveying instruments, ensuring far greater accuracy,” he said.

Third-floor Margao inquiry office draws flak over poor accessibility

MARGAO: Land and property owners from Cuncolim who appeared for NAKSHA-related survey inquiries at the Land Survey Office in Margao on Thursday had to climb three flights of stairs to reach the inquiry office, renewing concerns over the inconvenience caused to the public.

Senior citizens, in particular, bore the brunt of the arrangement as the office on the third floor is not directly accessible by lift. The situation has once again raised questions over why the survey inquiries pertaining to Cuncolim are not being conducted at the Cuncolim Municipal Council office instead.

A land survey official acknowledged that there is no direct lift access to the third-floor office. “Senior citizens can use the lift up to the fourth floor and then walk down to the third floor,” the official said.

When asked by the media about the demand from Cuncolim residents to hold the survey inquiries within the municipal area, a land survey official said the concerns have already been conveyed to the higher authorities.

“We have informed the head office about the sentiments of the people of Cuncolim, who want the survey inquiries to be held at the Cuncolim Municipal Council office. We will have to wait and see what decision the head office takes,” the official said.

Cuncolim delegation seeks clarity on land survey

Former bureaucrat Elvis Gomes led a delegation of Cuncolim residents to the land survey officials on Day One of the NAKSHA inquiry.

MARGAO: Anxiety is mounting in Cuncolim over the government’s high-tech NAKSHA Survey (Urban Property Card Survey) as a delegation led by former bureaucrat and activist Elvis Gomes descended on the Margao office of the Inquiry Officer on Thursday, demanding answers to critical questions about land rights.

The delegation walked away deeply dissatisfied, citing a “stoic silence” from the administration despite repeated appeals for public sensitisation campaigns.

Speaking to the media after an interaction with the Inquiry Officer, Elvis Gomes flayed the government for what he termed a complete lack of public interest in the exercise.

“The Inquiry Office itself has been set up in Margao for matters entirely related to Cuncolim, forcing locals to travel unnecessarily,” Gomes pointed out. 

“Furthermore, asking people to produce title documents for over 18,000 properties within a tight 30-day window is a recipe for a logistical nightmare. Making people stand in long, unnecessary queues is unacceptable.”

Gomes highlighted that Cuncolim’s land holdings have unique historical complexities. In the absence of official clarity, conspiracy theories and deep-seated fears are spreading quickly among locals.

“Land is a highly sensitive issue in Goa, and Cuncolim has its own unique challenges. Despite our demands to keep this inquiry in abeyance and conduct awareness workshops first, the government has refused to communicate. Naturally, people fear a backdoor land grab by the State under the controversial Escheat, Forfeiture and Bona Vacantia Act. We are watching closely, and we will not allow this to happen at any cost.”

Gomes advised the public to proceed with extreme caution before submitting any documents to the inquiry office. He raised urgent questions about how the government intends to deal with two major groups: locals without formal title deeds who have lived on ancestral land for generations, and Non-Resident Goans (NRIs) living abroad who cannot physically defend their land claims within the 30-day window.

“Until the government officially clarifies the need for the Urban Property Card and addresses these gaps,” he added, “the cry from Cuncolim remains loud and clear: ‘Kaksha first, NAKSHA later’.”