Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
Panaji, Jun 19: Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday announced that the state government's ‘Mhajo Flat’ scheme will be implemented within the next 15 days, offering relief to an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 flat owners who have been unable to legally register their homes in their own names for years.
The initiative, announced in the state budget, aims to address a long-standing property ownership issue affecting thousands of residents who purchased flats decades ago but still lack formal ownership rights.
Sawant said many residential complexes continue to stand on land that remains registered in the names of original landowners, many of whom are either deceased or no longer residing in Goa, making the transfer process nearly impossible.
“There are buildings that are over 40 years old where the land is still registered in the original owner's name. In some cases, the owner is no longer alive and the builder has moved away. Meanwhile, families have lived in these flats for generations but still do not have legal ownership,” Sawant said.
Under the proposed scheme, the government will implement a deemed conveyance mechanism that will allow the registrar to sign property transfer documents on behalf of absent landowners or builders, enabling flat purchasers to secure ownership rights.
Currently, many buyers who have already paid the full purchase amount remain trapped in legal limbo between builders and landowners.
In numerous cases, buyers possess only an agreement of sale with the builder, while builders have failed to form housing societies or formally transfer ownership rights to residents.
The ‘Mhajo Flat’ scheme is intended to resolve these issues by legally transferring ownership to eligible flat owners.
The Chief Minister made the announcement while inaugurating the new headquarters of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, named Sahakar Seva Bhavan, at Merces.
He said it would take around a month for the department to fully relocate from its existing rented office at the Goa State Cooperative Bank building to the newly restored premises.
The two-storey building at Merces offers approximately 870 square metres of built-up area and was renovated by the Public Works Department (PWD) at an estimated cost of Rs 2.4 crore.
Highlighting the state's cooperative sector, Sawant said Goa currently has around 5,600 cooperative societies, including nearly 3,000 housing cooperative societies and 1,450 self-help groups.
He stressed the need to make cooperative policies more transparent and said Goa has the potential to emerge as a national leader in the cooperative movement.