The Goa government is lobbying with Centre to accord special status to Goa on lines of Mizoram, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, Law and Judiciary Ministry Francis D’Souza told the Goa Assembly on Monday.
“The State is making necessary efforts in the matter with the Central government,” Mr. D’Souza said in a written reply tabled during question hour on Monday in the ongoing monsoon session of the state legislative assembly.
In his response to a question from Congress legislator Jennifer Monserrate, Mr. D’Souza said, “A resolution passed in the Goa Legislative Assembly has been forwarded to the Union Government for granting special status to Goa on the lines of Special Status granted to the State of Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand under Article 371 or any other provision of the Constitution of India”.
He further said that through the special status tag, the government would be able to regulate “ownership and transfer of land in order to conserve limited resources available for development and to ensure that the State preserves its unique identity”.
Many groups here have been demanding special status for Goa, which has been facing challenges stemming from rapid in-migration beyond its carrying capacity, shrinking scarce land resource and a resultant dilution of its identity.