The cracks in Goa’s land governance have split wide open—again. And once again, the spotlight falls squarely on Town and Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane and the department he heads.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has ordered the revocation of an 80,000 sqm land conversion in Maulinguem, Bicholim, categorizing it as a valley. The speed was startling—within hours, the TCP department moved to withdraw permissions. Efficient? Perhaps. But also deeply revealing.
Because this is not about one land parcel.
This is about a system.
A token action won’t cut it
Let’s be clear: Goans are not appeased by selective reversals. Revoking a single conversion is not reform—it is damage control.
What people are demanding is far more fundamental:
Scrap Section 39A entirely
Revoke all conversions cleared under it
Annul the final notifications issued through this route
And above all, accountability.
That accountability must begin with Vishwajit Rane. Not just questions—but consequences. Removal from the cabinet. A thorough investigation into alleged kickbacks. A full audit of every approval granted under his watch.
Anything less is cosmetic.
The convenient denial
Rane’s response has only deepened public suspicion. Claiming he was “unaware” whether his own department examined such a massive land parcel is not just implausible—it is insulting.
This is the very mechanism Section 39A was designed to enable. Large-scale land conversions, fast-tracked, often opaque.
And we are expected to believe the minister in charge knew nothing?
That narrative doesn’t hold.
It looks less like ignorance and more like an attempt to distance himself—leaving bureaucrats exposed while he searches for an escape route.
The rot runs deep
Responsibility doesn’t stop at the minister’s office. The chain of approvals—from case registration to inspection to final clearance—involves multiple senior officials.
If there is to be an investigation, it must be systemic:
Secure all files immediately
Suspend and probe the officials involved
Examine every step of the approval process
But the probe must start at the top. Anything else would be a deliberate diversion.
A warning ignored
This crisis didn’t emerge overnight.
Concerns around Section 39A were raised long ago. Even judicial voices like Ferdino Rebello had flagged the dangers. Citizens approached courts. Protests followed.
Local resistance intensified when MLA Viresh Borkar escalated the issue through a hunger strike , forcing the government to pause conversions in his constituency.
And yet, despite mounting pressure, the recent Assembly session ended without scrapping Section 39A—a move that left many Goans disillusioned.
A moment of reckoning
Now, with Sawant finally acting—whether out of conviction or compulsion—there is a narrow window for real change.
Every file cleared, pending, or processed under Section 39A must be reopened and scrutinized.
But this cannot be left to politicians alone. Public trust in elected representatives is at a low ebb, and not without reason.
It is up to Goans themselves to:
Call out questionable conversions
Demand transparency
Push for complete repeal of Section 39A
Public pressure, especially with elections on the horizon, may be the only force strong enough to compel action.
The uncomfortable truth
Here lies the dilemma.
Will Chief Minister Pramod Sawant act decisively against Vishwajit Rane?
Or will political compulsions prevail?
Because any serious action risks exposing deeper issues—not just within the TCP department, but within the broader functioning of the government itself.
That is the truth many suspect.
And that is exactly why half-measures are no longer acceptable.
Goa stands at a crossroads. This is not just about land—it is about trust, governance, and the future of the state.
The question is simple:
Will this moment lead to real accountability?
Or will it become just another chapter in a long history of convenient silence?
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