Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

Hi Goan_Friend, welcome to the site and your offer to help with information, which I take kindly.

There are two sets of statistics which I have misplaced but you might be able to find them for me. They were reported in the Indian and UK media not so long ago:

1) The total annual sum of money repatriated to India by NRI's working and living outside India for financial years 2007 - 2008, 2006 - 2007, 2005 - 2006.........

Even if you can only find the most recent figures that would be a help.:thumbup:

2) The amount of financial aid given to India by HM Government UK for each of the past number of financial years. Also, the projected target for aid to India by the UK for the current and forthcoming years. You should be able to find this somewhere within the statistics of the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, or perhaps in Hansard.

I know these are not property related questions, but they have been niggling me because I remember the news articles but forgot to save them at the time.

Many thanks.

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

Also, how do I get the very nice lady in charge at the PWD, Porvorim to accept my file for the change of name on the water account into my name.

This is a very large file for what you would assume is a straightforward procedure.

It contains a sworn affadavit (confirming identity, address, supply number, residency, personal liability for all water connections and charges), notarised copies of Residents Permit, registered property Sale Deeds, Passport, Visa, formal application forms for change of name correctly completed and indemnifying PWD and Goa State Government of all liabilities, and personal letter asking for the good ladies' 'most kind consideration and uptake of her valuable time in regard to this matter'.

What does she mean when she says 'I can help you, if you help me'?

I have been to the Department Office, PWD many times and spent many hours, infact days. This good lady seems always to be in need of help.

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

Yes but when you had a 5 year x 182 days residency transferred money correctly and still get investigated and are left in limbo.

People keep on about LAND. We have not bought acres or LAND just small apartments/villas.

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

Same question Goan Friend with the Electricity board, file made up exactly like above been sitting there three years. Every year go to see them still not in our name - now think why waste my holiday.

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

That's right Old Man. I think the electricity people want the same kind of help as the lady in the water department offices. Help, spelt with a capital £ of course.

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

Babu1;

in reponse to your first question.

1. How much money have NRI's repatriated back to India. I got this on the RBI site and am giving u the direct link.

http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/Annual...ns.aspx?Id=876

2. The Uk has DFID. Department for international development that donate money/run charity programs in India. they are aiming to spend around 825million pounds in india over the next three years.

I think it's quite obvious what kind of help the lady in the PWD wants isn't it? do u think that i will have a different answer than wat the obvious one is?
anyway maybe it wld help if

1.u could speak to mr. churchill alemao, minister for pwd.
2. write a letter to the editors of local newspapers naming the lady and shaming her into doing the job for u.
3. invoke the rti act and put her in a spot. ask how long does it take for a file to be cleared.
4. go over her head and speak to her boss about this.

if u dont wanna pay a bribe then these are the options open to u.
i dont know but from you profile name u seem to be indian. i could be wrong.
anyway my point is that we are used to these things in india. in fact we are jaded and these things do not shock us nemore.

we dont like it anymore than any FN's. maybe you have a solution?

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

sorry forgot to give u the link to dfid information.

http://ukinindia.fco.gov.uk/en/working-with-india/dfid

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

old man and catpat;

it must be lovely back in the UK where accountability in government depts is paramount and evry1 does their jobs when they need to and everything moves like a greased lightning isn't it?

y dnt things work the same way here? right?

welcome to india my friends. welcome to a 3rd world country. i am not making excuses. i am stating reality. i am stating facts. you would have issues no matter where in the world u went and retired or lived..

obviously we are discussing goa n india cos u are here right nw. so yes, u can crib abt it and moan abt it. unfortunately u also have to live and deal with it.

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

old man;

abt post no 18.

yes i am aware that every one says 'land.' this also includes flats, villas and old portuguese houses etc.

like i told some earlier, if u have done everything 'legally', wat are u worrying abt? why are u in 'limbo'? wat requirements have u not fulfilled? until all the cases are investigated the government is not going to approve any sales transfers etc...

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

Goan_Friend, sincere thanks for the info and links, will follow them up.

Appreciate your time, advice and fair comment.:thumbup:

I think the much vaunted term 'land' gets under the skin of foreigners because it is deliberately emotive to Goans and reinforces a misconception that foreigners have bought up Goa's 'precious land massses' as MP Shantaram Naik might rabble rouse.

The reality is much different. The total square metres of mainly apartments and villas bought by foreigners in Goa, if added up, would amount to an inconsequential amount, a toeprint on the land mass of Goa (if the politicians and xenophobes would come clean about their own illegal and quasi legal landbanking).

The only instance of large scale land purchases which have come to light are the three plots in Morjim (of plantation land) bought by Russians, True Axis Hotels Pvt. Ltd., and in collusion with a Goan Director of the company.

It is well understood that foreigners, even NRI's, cannot buy plantation land in India, but it is also common knowledge that the intention was to increase the value of this land massively by converting it to 'residential status', and the hand of Goan politicians in abetting this illegality was firmly implicated through the offices of the Land Department, Town & Country Planning, Panjim.

The following article makes fascinating reading, appears to be well researched, and only scratches the surface of 'the great Goa land scam' (perpetrated by Goans against the interests of Goans). Do the maths, it would save me time;

The great Goan land scam

Goa's land allocation policy to SEZs has been indicted for massive irregularities by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The list of violations is more or less a case the fence eating the crop, finds out Himanshu Upadhyaya

http://www.indiatogether.org/2009/jun/gov-goascam.htm

30 June 2009 - In an audit report tabled in Goa assembly during the last week of March 2009, the supreme audit institution - Comptroller and Auditor General of India - has once again pronounced critical remarks on SEZs, this time around on massive irregularities in land allotments by Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) to SEZ promoters.

The main opposition party (BJP) as well as resistance movements against SEZs were quick to grasp the moment putting forward a demand for CBI probe and criminal inquiry. The CAG audit report had probed into land allotments to Dona Paula IT Park on the outskirts of Panaji (2,85,296 square metres), the Quintol Food Park (4,19,000 square metres) and seven SEZs (38,41,000 square metres) as part of the performance audit of government companies.

On closer examination what emerges is an even more worrisome problem. Land acquired in past for 'public purpose' remains unutilised and undeveloped for years, and despite this, repeat land acquisition quests were undertaken by the government. Worse, the current legal regime has no space for handing back such land to persons from whom it was acquired in the first place.

A huge chunk of SEZ land - 24.05 lakh square metre allotted to five SEZs at Verna - was carved out of 65.81 lakh square metres of land acquired for small and medium scale industries under centrally assisted Industrial Growth Centre scheme violating Government of India guidelines.

The audit scrutiny revealed that GIDC has acquired 166.86 lakh square metres land for 22 industrial estates and 7 special projects from 1966 till March 2003. Furthermore, during the last five years alone, ending March 2008, it initiated land acquisition proceedings for another 164 lakh square metres, i.e. an amount as high as what it acquired in the previous 37 years. Logically, one would expect that if land acquisition proceedings over such a large area were initiated within such a short period, GIDC was acting with due diligence on the need and requirement of such a rapid growth in industrialisation.

However, over six years ago, CAG's performance audit report on GIDC for the year ending 31 March 2003 had remarked that, "Saleable land admeasuring 29.57 lakh square metre remained unutilised for period ranging upto 21 years since the said land was acquired". The report was tabled in the year 2004 and has not been discussed by Goa Assembly's Public Accounts Committee.

Even though GIDC was in possession of 36.57 lakh square metres of unutilised saleable land as on March 31, 1998, it further acquired 13.71 lakh square metre of land during 1998-2003, at a huge cost and without a proper market survey, found the CAG. Out of this 13.71 lakh square metres land, as much as 8.53 lakh square metre (96 per cent) remained unallotted as explained below.

The numbers show that on the one hand, GIDC was acquiring within five years, as much land as it acquired in 37 years, and on the other hand, it was not able allot 96 per cent of the saleable area of the land that it acquired during 1998-2003.

There is more.

Coming back to the more recent times, the audit scrutiny examined all allotment to SEZs and allotments of area more than 10,000 square metres individually in Verna, Kundaim, Pissurlem and Cuncolim. This amounted to 7.83 lakh square metres and the CAG noticed irregularities in 86 allotments measuring 46.24 lakh square metres, involving the loss of revenue of Rs.102.64 crore. In short, almost 91.32 percentage of all its land allotment during last five years smack of irregularities.

In the Quitol Food Park case, the CAG auditors were shocked to find out that in deviation of GIDC's established policy, it acquired and allotted 4.19 lakh square metre of land to Betul Hospitality Parks Private Limited in April 2007 in the name of 'auxiliary services to Food Park', even as it was aware that BHPL had applied for 'setting up residential resorts for upmarket tourists'.

In the Dona Paula IT Park case, the CAG auditors noticed that the state government transferred 2.85 lakh square metre of land in June 2000 to state run Goa Info Tech Corporation for setting up IT and ITES. GITC developed the land and allotted 18 plots admeasuring 2,03,757 square metres area between August 2006 and October 2007 at a premium of Rs.4600 per square metre to 14 parties. The CAG auditors scrutinised the data and observed that "incorrect assessment of market rate of land resulted in loss of Rs.9.84 crores by way of premium and thereby undue benefit to allottees of the land". Also calculating the ripple effect of the loss in term of lease rent, CAG auditors noted that the company would suffer a loss worth Rs.5.90 crores (2 per cent of Rs.9.84 crores for 30 years).

Audit of the applications and allotments in Dona Paula IT Park case revealed large scale irregularities, since out of 37 applications only 19 were from IT firms, while 18 were from Real Estate Developers. Allotments were eventually made to 5 IT firms and 9 Real Estate Developers, while rejecting 23 applications, indicating that prime land earmarked for IT and ITES was being palmed off to speculative real estate interests that too at rates arrived by incorrect assessment.

According to the CAG report, in one instance, a real estate developer - Venkatarao Infra Projects - was allotted plots without even a proper application or project report, and five developers were allotted plots by relaxing the prescribed eligibility criteria.

On the land allotments to 7 SEZs, CAG stated that GIDC allotted the land (during April-May 2006) even without publicising or following up a proper process such as invitation of expression of interest, etc., and even before the state had designed its SEZ policy. Even more shocking: a huge chunk of SEZ land - 24.05 lakh square metre allotted to five SEZs at Verna - was carved out of 65.81 lakh square metres of land acquired for small and medium scale industries under centrally assisted Industrial Growth Centre scheme violating Government of India guidelines.

CAG auditors further noticed that undue favour was extended to SEZ developers by dropping a clause that enabled revision of Annual Lease Rent (ALR) as and when premium rates are revised. Trying to argue that this was not by design, the GIDC management stated in its reply in August 2008, "revision of ALR annually was not applicable to SEZ as the entire infrastructure maintenance cost within SEZ would be borne by SEZ developers". CAG auditors stated that the reply was not appropriate as GIDC had included its rights to revise the ALR in lease deed with BHPL for land at Quitol Food Park.

The list goes on and on. A comprehensive narration of CAG's findings about GIDC will take several pages more.

In sum, the CAG reports show that Goa's fever for land acquisition appears completely misplaced. GIDC and the state government are accountable for the large tracts of land that have been lying unutilised, after allottment or acquisition. Such land could simpy be handed back to people from whom it was acquired in the name of 'public purpose', rather than it being allowed to remain in 'suspended industrialisation' mode for years and then swiftly being handed over to SEZ developers at cheaper rates. ⊕

Himanshu Upadhyaya
30 June 2009

Himanshu Upadhyaya is an independent researcher working on Public Finance and Accountability issues.

© Civil Society Information Exchange Pvt. Ltd.

Apologies, but I feel this is important enough to be on public record without edit. It certainly puts the lie to 'foreigner cartels' and their 'huge amounts of cash, buying up Goa'.

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

'....the fence eating the crop...'. I like that one:rofl::eek:

Don't want to patronise those in the know, but for others unfamiliar with Indian measurement system; 1 lakh = 100,000

Therefore, 1 lakh square metres of land = 100,000 square metres of land, and so on.

Goa encompasses an area of 3,702 sq. kilometres. At the most recent Census of 2001 the population of Goa was recorded at 1.344 million residents.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/goahomes/

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

Yes, but with fairness.
We treat people from other countries like our own here in UK. We have been visiting Goa for 20 years, so knew what the people we like, but they have changed in the last five years. Perhaps it was out fault for being so generous to them. But that has stopped now.
All we do it put money into the Goan economy for six months of the year. WE ASK FOR NOTHING AND GET NOTHING - except harrassment. Here in the UK we are too generous with our Health Service and Government handouts.

Hey if we are not wanted, let us sell and leave. - but that would be a sad day for my family to leave Goa.

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

Being New to this site,but following the debate I too find myself imprisoned in the vile filthy country by the fact I bought property there some years ago.Bought legally,but now in no mans land,cannot sell.
I think it is fraud visited on us by the Indians in general ie obtaining property by deception. Winston Churchill in all his wisdom in 1947 described Indians as men of straw,unfit for government ,sweet tongued but evil minded.
Nothing is right in India,fact is it is getting worse,the world moves forward but Goa especially moves in reverse,Goan identity is sat under a coconut tree with a bottle of fenny , lazy, fit for nothing idiots I often refer to them as coconut heads which just about fits the bill.
Being allowed to sell up and escape the dump called Goa will unleash hundreds of true ambassadors for India ,spreading the gospel ,anything Indian will be spat on I'm sure.
The only way anybody will escape from India is to embarrass them,take the protest where they cannot hide away from answering direct questions ie London High Commission office ,protest there,let people get arrested,tell it as it is to the courts ,let the national press get hold of the story, the Indians will want shut of this problem like xxxx off a shovel. The mindset of a typical Indian is nothing happens unless it smacks them over the head.
Even tried to cheat at the World Trade Organization agreements on tariff arrangements recently,agenda set ,but guess which country reneged on the promises within a few months Indians,I wouldn't trust my own shadow in the company of one.

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

Welcome Jose and join the Club.

Re: UNBIASED ADVICE ON GOA ISSUES....
 

?