PANAJI: The Goa Industrial Development Corporation (Goa-IDC) is planning significant reforms to enable the conversion of industrial land from leasehold to outright ownership. At a board meeting on Friday, the Goa-IDC also considered simplifying rules regarding the transfer, sublease, subdivision, and amalgamation of industrial plots.
The proposed amendments are part of the Centre’s Compliance Reduction and Deregulation Initiative under the Viksit Bharat 2047 agenda. Phase II of this initiative identified industrial land use as a priority area, recommending a more liberal approach to leasehold-to-freehold conversions and replacing prior approval requirements with a simpler notification process for transfers and plot subdivisions.
A report submitted to the Goa-IDC board indicated that many recommendations had already been enacted through the corporation’s 2023 Allotment, Transfer, and Sub-Lease Regulations. However, it warned that further liberalization could impact planned industrial development and diminish oversight of public land.
Following the review, Industries Minister Mauvin Godinho instructed the Goa-IDC to align actions with the Centre’s reforms while ensuring the protection of long-term institutional and financial interests, according to officials.
In preparing its model, Goa-IDC analyzed industrial land policies in West Bengal, Delhi, Punjab, and Karnataka. Currently, the corporation allocates industrial land to MSMEs on a 95-year lease, after which the terms undergo revision based on its reversionary rights.
Under the new framework, allottees seeking freehold conversion will need to waive Goa-IDC’s reversionary rights by paying an upfront “freehold premium.” This fee will be calculated as the total lease rent from the application date until the end of the original 95-year lease, along with any outstanding dues.
A Goa-IDC board member noted that the proceeds from these conversions will go into a corpus fund, with the principal amount preserved indefinitely and not used for operational costs. The corporation will only utilize the interest generated from this fund under a policy sanctioned by the board.
Implementing these reforms will necessitate amendments to the Goa Industrial Development Act, 1965, via an ordinance, along with updates to the 2023 Regulations, pending state government approval.
