PORVORIM: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said in the assembly that legislation will be brought in soon to prevent any more houses from being constructed illegally. Sawant said the state will again open the window under the existing act to enable locals to legalise their houses constructed on land owned by them.
Considering the high court order on illegal constructions, Sawant said state govt has warned local bodies to act only against constructions that have come up on land earmarked for national highways, state highways, or major district roads. Sawant said that the high court order on illegal constructions pertains only to such structures.
The CM said that govt had earlier commenced the process of issuing enabling house numbers (EHN) for structures that were in existence but did not have house numbers. He said this helped panchayats collect garbage and house taxes.
“We will be opening the window again, and those who have taken EHN will be able to legalise their houses,” Sawant said.
Panchayat minister Mauvin Godinho said that over 33,000 houses have been issued EHN so far and said that an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 houses remain without any house number or EHN.
Godinho urged owners of such houses to come forward for the allotment of EHN as they help the panchayats provide facilities such as drains and road access.
“People feel that if they register now, their houses will be considered to have been in existence only from the time EHN were given,” Godinho said. “The legalisation process is completely different. People built the houses on their own land some 30 to 40 years ago, and the laws came in later.”
He said, “In some of these cases, the court has even issued orders to demolish the houses because they do not have house numbers. EHN are issued for such houses.”
Mayem MLA Premendra Shet said that the finance department has issued a circular which does away with the benefits of EHN. Godinho promised to grant a relaxation under the circular to enable the benefits of EHN to continue.
