Regularisation of a dwelling house on Government land (section 38A, Land Revenue Code; Mhaje Ghar)
VerifiedMHAJE-GHAR-GOVTTaluka office
Regularisation of a dwelling house on Government land (section 38A, Land Revenue Code; Mhaje Ghar)
Revenue Department (Deputy Collector & SDO)
Section 38A of the Goa Land Revenue Code, inserted by the Goa Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Act, 2025 and in force from 4 October 2025, lets the Deputy Collector regularise the land under a dwelling house built before 28 February 2014 on Government land, by granting Class I occupancy against an occupancy price. The application is Form XXIII with a Rs. 100 court fee stamp, within six months of commencement, extended to eighteen months by Ordinance in April 2026. This is the Government-land half of what the Government calls the Mhaje Ghar scheme.
Who, how long, where to appeal
Who decides
Deputy Collector & SDO of the sub-division (order granting Class I occupancy)
A dwelling house built before 28 February 2014 on land belonging to the Government or granted by the Government
The applicant must be a landless person, resident of Goa for at least fifteen years before 28 February 2014, who (with family) owns no other plot, house, flat or separately allotted ancestral share; the family may apply after the builder's death
The house must be the family's fixed, exclusive dwelling and carry a number allotted by the local authority
Not available for houses in protected forest, wildlife sanctuaries, CRZ (if built after 19 February 1991), No Development Zones, open spaces, Eco Sensitive Zone-I, khazan land, road setbacks or rights of way, or on filled water bodies or natural water channels
Available where the land is in a Settlement, Institutional, Industrial, Cultivable or Orchard zone
Only the plinth plus up to two metres around the walls is regularised, never more than 400 square metres; excess must be surrendered to the Deputy Collector
Application within six months of the Act coming into force; the Act came into force on 4 October 2025 — Commencement notified in Series I No. 26 (Extraordinary No. 3) of 1 October 2025. Ordinances of 10 April 2026 replaced six months with eighteen months, so the period runs to early April 2027 while that amendment stands; a Bill to replace the Ordinance was introduced on 31 August 2026. Confirm the current period with the office.
Application period extended from six to eighteen months from 4 October 2025 by Ordinance of 10 April 2026
Proof of the house number allotted by the Panchayat, Municipal Council or Corporation
Proof that the house existed before 28 February 2014: utility bills, voter card, Aadhaar, ration card, passport, telephone bill, house tax receipts, bank or postal passbook, any tax receipt, or a notice or letter from a Government department or local body
Residence certificate from the Mamlatdar certifying at least 15 years' residence in Goa before 28 February 2014
Form I & XIV or Form D, site plan, survey plan and a zoning certificate from the Town & Country Planning Department
Affidavit in Form XXIV confirming the application and documents are true and complete
Apply to the Deputy Collector & SDO in Form XXIII with the documents, the Rs. 100 stamp and the Form XXIV affidavit
A public notice inviting objections is displayed for fifteen days at the Deputy Collector's, the Mamlatdar's and the local body's offices and on the Collector's website; objections are disposed of within thirty days after that
On payment of the occupancy price the Deputy Collector passes the order granting Class I occupancy
The land must be used only for the dwelling house and cannot be sold or transferred for twenty years except by gift to a family member; breach means eviction and forfeiture of the occupancy price
Once the land is regularised, apply separately under the Goa Regularisation of Unauthorized Construction Act, 2016 for the house itself
A false declaration or document leads to revocation, reversion of the land to the Government, and prosecution with up to two years' imprisonment and a fine up to one lakh rupees
No demolition of such a house for six months from commencement, and none while a timely application is pending
Legal basis
Acts and rules
The Goa Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Goa Act 15 of 2025), inserting section 38A
In force from 4 October 2025
The Goa Land Revenue (Disposal of Government Lands) (Amendment) Rules, 2025: fee, Form XXIII, public notice and conditions of grant
The Goa Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026 (Ordinance No. 2 of 2026), promulgated 10 April 2026: the application period and the demolition bar become eighteen months
The Goa Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Bill, 2026 (Bill No. 50 of 2026), introduced 31 August 2026 to replace the Ordinance and keep eighteen months — As introduced; whether it has been enacted is not something we can quote yet.