Panaji (Goa) Goa government is contemplating to move a legislation during upcoming State Legislative Assembly session to provide protection to the ancestral properties of NRIs and ex-patriats from being sold fraudulently.

The upcoming five day long assembly session is scheduled to begin from December 13.

State Town and Country planning minister Vijai Sardesai who returned from his Dubai trip today told reporters that the Goans living overseas are wary about their properties being fraudulently sold in their absence.

“During my visit there, I interacted with several Goans who have listed out their problems. One of the major problem is that their ancestral properties which are in Goa are sold fraudulently without their information,” the minister said.

He stated that many a times a person having power of attorney towards the property signs the document selling it to the third party without even informing the owner. “When they come back here, they find that their properties are already gone,” he added.

Sardesai said that the State government would be moving a legislation during upcoming assembly session providing protection to such properties from being sold. 

“We can make it compulsory for the owner to be present while property is sold so that the person with power of attorney cannot take the advantage,” he said adding that the amendment to Registration Act will have to be made to give the protection.

Sardesai said that there are around two lakh Goans who are settled in the UAE, which is a sizeable number considering the population of the State. “These two lakh population is also our voters as they are NRIs,” he added.

He recalled that there are some people who had left for those countries in 1960’s when even flight connectivity did not exist and they had to go through ships. 

Sardesai, who launched Goa Forward for UAE in Dubai, said that the new organization is not a direct organ of the party but is an indirect one connecting all the Goans who are living abroad.

“The government should consider the aspirations of these people, while framing the policies, who are of Goan origin and living abroad. These people want to connect with Goa so we will have to provide them the opportunities,” he said.

Sardesai said that the State government will facilitate their investment in Goa in Information Technology and non-polluting industries and also promote reverse migration in the State.

“After UAE, Goa Forward is also going to Canada and Australia and reach out to the Goans who are living there,” he added.