The Goa assembly has approved a bill intended to regularize specific types of unauthorized constructions on comunidade lands, despite significant protests from the opposition, claiming that the legislation would favour non-Goans. The Goa Regularisation of Unauthorised Construction Bill, 2025, was enacted on Thursday night, following two adjournments of the House due to uproar from the opposition benches.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told reporters that the legislation will benefit 35,000 houses, of which 30,000 structures belong to Goans. He said houses that completed 15 years as of February 28, 2014, will be eligible for regularisation only after receiving consent from the respective comunidade bodies and paying fines.

Comunidade land pertains to a communal land ownership and management system in Goa, where land is collectively owned by a community and managed by its members.

The bill, moved by state Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserrate, amends the 2016 Act to widen the scope for regularising certain categories of illegal constructions, including those on comunidade lands.

The legislation introduces provisions allowing the regularisation of houses built on comunidade and government lands if these have already been regularised under relevant land laws by competent authorities.

The permissible built-up area for regularisation has been allowed to 500 sq metres in village panchayat areas and 600 sq metres in municipal areas, subject to floor area ratio norms of the respective regions.

The bill makes it mandatory for the applicant to get consent from the respective comunidade bodies by paying them relevant fines.

The opposition benches argued that the government was attempting to regularise illegal constructions, especially of non-Goans.

The opposition MLAs walked into the well of the House, forcing Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar to adjourn the proceedings twice for 10 minutes and five minutes, respectively.

Opposition MLAs also staged a sit-in protest outside the assembly complex after the session was over.