By IANS,
Panaji : Satellite imagery to monitor illegal constructions, authoritative translation of colonial-era Portuguese laws into English and stricter implementation of the doctrine of separation of powers are some of the recommendations made by the Goa law commission.
Speaking to reporters in Panaji Wednesday, the commission’s chairman Ramakant Khalap said that the commission had recommended that Goa’s topography should be scanned via satellite once annually to keep tabs on illegal structures and encroachments.
“We must use technology to help keep tabs on the growing number of encroachments and illegal constructions in Goa,” he said.
Khalap, a former minister of state for law in the central government, said that the commission had also advocated that crucial administrative offices, like those of the deputy collectors should be relieved of their quasi-judicial duties, as it delayed the clearance of thousands of civil and land related cases.
“We have recommended stricter implementation of the doctrine of separation of powers. Most of these officials are busy with administrative of law and order duties. They should be relieved of their judicial chores as they hardly have time for it,” he said.
Khalap also said that Goa, which had adopted some of the Portuguese civil laws, after being liberated from the colonial power in 1961, needed to urgently translate the same into English to ensure that newer generations of lawyers and litigants can grasp the same easily. Several laws including those related to family inheritance, marriage and divorce are inherently Portuguese laws.
“Most of these laws need a thorough looking at. There a lot of instances, where a particular law has been modified or even changed in the parent country (Portugal), but the same law continues to exist in Goa in its original form,” Khalap said.
Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule in 1961 by the Indian army after the European country ruled the state and other adjoining areas for nearly 450 years.