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The Goa State Information Commission has instructed the district collectors of North and South Goa to upload all land-conversion sanads on a public portal. The directive followed a complaint stating that authorities had not fulfilled their obligations under the RTI Act's proactive disclosure provisions. The information to be uploaded includes applicant details, survey numbers, application and sanction dates, and a plan showing the converted portion of land. The order aims to strengthen transparency and reduce the volume of individual RTI requests.
The Goa State Information Commission ordered the district collectors of North and South Goa to place full details of all land-conversion sanads on an online public platform. The decision stemmed from a complaint filed earlier by a citizen who argued that the authorities had not complied with the RTI Act's requirement for proactive disclosure of such information. Advertisement
As per the directive, the collectors must publish the applicant's name and address, the survey number and village of the concerned plot, the date of the application, the date on which the sanad was granted, and a schematic plan showing the portions of the land that have been approved for conversion. The commission further instructed that these details must be uploaded within two days of each new sanad being issued and that a compliance report should be submitted within 45 days.
The South Goa Collector's office had initially objected, stating that the Goa Land Revenue Code did not mandate the publication of sanads online and that the commission lacked authority to demand such disclosures. However, the State Information Commission clarified that the complainant was not seeking new information but merely requesting that existing records be made accessible to the public. It stressed that proactive disclosure would reduce the need for individual RTI filings and improve administrative transparency.
Although the original complaint related only to South Goa, the commission extended the directive to both districts, citing wider public interest and the need for uniform access to land-conversion records across the state.
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