Staff Reporter Panaji
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday announced that only those village panchayats and municipalities that consistently collect taxes from establishments within their areas will be eligible for annual government grants.
“It is not appropriate to provide grants to rural and urban local bodies that do not regularly collect taxes,” Sawant maintained.
The Chief Minister’s comments came during the launch of the NAKSHA pilot project in Goa, part of the central government’s National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations programme.
Three urban areas – the Corporation of the City of Panaji and municipalities of Margao and Cuncolim – have been selected for the project’s implementation in the state.
The initiative, led by the department of land resources under the Union ministry of rural development, was officially launched at the national level by Union Minister for Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan from Madhya Pradesh.
Sawant emphasised the importance of financial discipline for local bodies.
He encouraged them to regularly collect taxes from leased establishments and commercial businesses in their jurisdictions.
“This project will assist in identifying encroachments within cities and will also help modernise urban land records through advanced geospatial technologies,” he said.
It will support disaster management, GIS 3D mapping for taxation, and detecting encroachments in urban areas, the Chief Minister reckoned.
However, Sawant clarified that the initiative was not intended to change land ownership but aimed at improving city management.
During the event, the Chief Minister unveiled the NAKSHA logo and released an informational booklet.
Key officials present included commissioner and revenue secretary Sandip Jacques, North Goa collector Dr Sneha Gitte, South Goa collector Egna Cleetus, and director of settlement and land records Rohit Kadam.
