log on to thegoan.net FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2026 GOA @thegoanonline Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 14 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME XI, NO. 299 Shivaji statue row: Prohibitory orders imposed at Headland Sada 2 GOA CCP tightens sewage rules after Mala lake incident 3 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO Handcrafted lip care: A simple guide to natural balms Women quota law: Voting on 3 key bills in LS today LOK SABHA SEATS TO BE HIKED TO 850; 272 FOR WOMEN PTI NEW DELHI Voting on the three bills in Lok Sabha to amend the women's quota law and set up a delimitation commission will be held at 4 pm on Friday, according to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Birla said there would be a debate of around 15-18 hours on the bills as voting would take place on 4 pm on Friday. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju suggested a 12-hour debate on the bills but said the decision to extend that would be taken by the Speaker. According to the bill, the Lok Sabha seats will go up to a maximum of 850 but Shah explained that it was a rounded figure and the seats will remain at 816. Explaining how the total number of seats in the new Lok Sabha is fixed at 816, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah said it is exactly 50 per cent more than the existing number of seats and that 272 will be reserved for women. Earlier, the Constitution Numbers not in favour of NDA to get women’s reservation bills passed NEW DELHI: The ruling NDA does not have the required numbers in Parliament to get the women's reservation bills passed with a two-thirds majority, unless it can shore up support from other parties or make some of them abstain. While the NDA has the support of 293 members in the Lok Sabha, which is 54 per cent of the house, the Opposition has 233 MPs. While 7 MPs are independents, four belong to YSRCP, and one each to AIMIM and Shiromani Akali Dal. AIMIM has already opposed the bill. The rules require 360 MPs to support the bills, including the Constitution amendment bill, which comes to two-thirds of those present and voting. (131st Amendment) Bill to tweak the women's quota law was introduced in the Lok Sabha after a division of votes. Two ordinary bills -- the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill to implement the In case 30 MPs abstain from the house, the total number will fall to 510 and the two-thirds mark will be 340 and if 60 MPs abstain, the total would fall to 480 and the two-thirds figure will come down to 320. Likewise, a total of 90 MPs would have to abstain for the two-thirds figure to come down to 300. For the bills to get approval from the Lok Sabha, at least two main opposition parties from amongst the Samajwadi Party (37 MPs), Trinamool Congress (28 MPs) or DMK (22 MPs) would have to abstain. The Congress has 98 MPs in the Lok Sabha. In case the bills do not get Lok Sabha nod, they will not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha. proposed amended women's quota law in Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir -- were also introduced in the House. The Bills were introduced after a fiery 40-minute debate following which the opposition pressed for the division of votes to introduce the Constitutional (131st Amendment) Bill. The Bill was later introduced with 251 members supporting it and 185 members voting against the introduction. Congress' K C Venugopal Touchscreens in cars: upgrade or distraction? Kinetic DX Electric: Nostalgia meets modern mobility THE GOAN I NETWORK Tenant verification rules notified PANAJI: A joint job fair by GHRDC and industry bodies will be held on April 23 at GIDC Hall, Verna, to strengthen partnerships and expand employment opportunities. CM Pramod Sawant met Verna Industrial Estate industry representatives to boost local hiring.  >> See pg 3 Luxury cottages on fire near Ajoba temple at Ashwem-Mandrem.  Nivrutti Shirodkar 7 luxury cottages reduced to ashes in Ashwem blaze CAUSE UNCLEAR; SECOND FIRE IN TWO WEEKS THE GOAN I NETWORK PERNEM Seven luxury cottages were gutted in a major fire near the Ajoba temple in Ashwem-Mandrem on Thursday night. This is the second major fire along Pernem’s coast in under two weeks, after a massive fire had destroyed seven beachfront restaurants at Arambol beach in the wee hours of April 4. According to sources, the fire in Ashwem began at about 8.45 pm and locals had initially attempted to bring the fire under control. When their efforts proved unsuccessful with the growing blaze, the Pernem fire station was notified. By the time fire brigades rushed to the site, seven cottages were destroyed in the fire. Efforts were underway till >Continued on P9 MAPUSA With barely weeks left for the tenure of 11 municipal councils to end on May 25, uncertainty looms large over the conduct of civic elections in Goa, amid strong indications that the polls could be postponed – either by the government or through judicial intervention. There is a growing buzz in political circles that sections within the ruling dispensation are not keen on going to the polls immediately. Sources indicated that a few MLAs and at least one cabinet minister are in favour of deferring the elections, citing “practical constraints.” Even as the speculation gains ground, the Goa State Election Commission (SEC) has already set the election machinery in motion. The SEC has initiated the crucial process of ward delimitation across all 11 municipal councils slated for polls. A public notice had been is- 14 Uproar in Margao as rail land case deferred again  High drama at ISLR office  Velsao landowners call it ‘delay tactics’ THE GOAN I NETWORK MARGAO Tension and high drama unfolded on Thursday at the office of the Inspector of Survey and Land Records (ISLR) in Margao, as agitated landowners from Velsao gathered for what was scheduled to be the 16th hearing since January 2025. The landowners have filed objections to the draft Index of Land, asserting ownership and possession of parcels through which the Railways are currently laying a second track. In a show of solidarity, several prominent figures and activists from across Goa were present at the Matanhy Saldanha Administrative Complex. Among them were Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, GPCC President Amit Patkar, noted environmentalist Claude Alvares, along with anti-track doubling activists John Douglas Coutinho, Olencio Simoes, Orville Dourado, former MLA Alina Saldanha, and Jose Marie Miranda. However, as in previous hearings, the landowners were informed that the ISLR Land owners from Velsao and other parts of Goa waiting outside the office of ISLR, Margao on Thursday.   Santosh Mirajkar. ON PAGE 2 Complaint filed demanding stoppage of all ongoing double track works in Velsao, Cansaulim Collector refuses to comment, says matter sub-judice assigned to the case was on leave. Frustrated by repeated adjournments, they approached another ISLR official, only to be told that the Velsao matter would be taken up after the completion of other cases. The situation escalated when the presiding ISLR pro- FOCUS ON WARD RESERVATIONS, POLL SCHEDULE IN SHORT >> Govt announces job fair on April 23 IPL: Punjab Kings pile misery on MI with dominant 7-wicket win Speculation over civic poll delay gathers momentum Page 8 PANAJI: The govt has notified the Goa (Verification of Tenants) Rules, 2026, bringing into force a statewide framework that makes it mandatory for property owners to verify tenants’ identities and furnish their particulars to the jurisdictional police station within five days of occupation. >> See pg 3 questioned why the proposed changes in the women's quota law were not incorporated when it was passed earlier by Parliament. “Bills to tweak the women's quota law and set up a delimitation panel are anti-constitutional,” he said. Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav questioned the rush to introduce the bills. “We support women's quota in legislature but why not hold a census?” he asked. Union Home Minister Amit Shah hit back, saying the Census 2027 is on and the Centre has also decided to go for caste enumeration, but reservation based on religion is “unconstitutional”. DMK members dressed in black clothes in the Lok Sabha to protest amendments to the women''s reservation law. “We favour the 2023 women's quota law, but the present Bill is aimed at delimitation,” DMK''s T R Baalu said. RSP's N K Premchandran opposed the women's quota law amendment, saying it is not meant for reservation but delimitation. 11 SPORTS „„Two key steps regarding these still pending decisions THE -- ward „„Law requires PROBLEM clear time reservations & election AT HAND gap between schedule reservation „„Govt seems declaration & stuck or under pressure election schedule ON THE FLIP SIDE „„SEC has started election preparations „„Ward delimitation process initiated for all 11 civic councils „„Public notice issued inviting objections, suggestions on draft ward plans „„Number of councillors announced for each municipality „„Final electoral rolls expected within a week sued inviting objections and suggestions on the draft ward plans, signalling that preparations are at an advanced stage. In addition, the SEC has notified the number of councillors for each municipality, another key step in the run-up to elections. The final electoral rolls – on the basis of which voting will take place – are expected to be published shortly, possibly within the next week, sources said. >Continued on P9 posed to adjourn the matter to mid-June, prompting strong protests from those present. Landowners and supporters rejected the delay, accusing the administration of intentionally stalling proceedings to allow the South Western >Continued on P9 Dhond ritual bath turns fatal, youth drowns in Bicholim river THE GOAN I NETWORK BICHOLIM A wave of grief has spread in the area after a youth from Kajiwada-Vithalapur in Bicholim drowned during a Dhond ritual bath in the river at Vathadev-Bicholim. According to reports, Damodar Naik (23) was staying with a group at a place called ‘Nave Dhond’, where people gather near the riverbank to observe religious vows. From Thursday, new participants had begun their vow on the occasion of Amavasya (new moon). Accordingly, some of them had gone to bathe in the Bicholim river at Vathadev. Naik had gone to observe the vow as a new participant and went to soak clothes as part of the ritual. His father and other participants were present at the time. Although the water level was low, he reportedly fell into the water. He remained in the water for some time. Some people nearby noticed him and pulled him out. An ambulance was summoned to the site, but he died on the spot. Land records rules tweaked to High Court flags violation of CCL policy by IPHB KEY OBSERVATIONS OF THE COURT include reclassification orders THE GOAN I NETWORK GOVT NOTIFIES AMENDMENT AFTER NO OBJECTIONS THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Goa government notified an amendment to the land revenue rules, allowing government-issued reclassification orders under Section 24 of the Goa Land Revenue Code to be reflected in the Record of Rights and Register of Cultivators. The amendment, titled the Goa Land Revenue (Record of Rights and Register of Cultivators) (Amendment) Rules, 2026, follows the completion of the mandatory pre-publication process in February 2026, the Revenue Department said. The department had invited objections and suggestions to draft rules within a period of 15 days from the date of publication. Officials said that no objec- tions or suggestions were received from the public within the stipulated period, clearing the way for the final notification of the amended rules. Under the amendment, a new clause -- clause (vii) -- has been inserted in the proviso to sub-rule (1) of Rule 10 of the Goa Land Revenue (Record of Rights and Register of Cultivators) Rules, 1969. It stated that an entry may now be made in cases where an order of reclassification has been issued by the government under Sec 24 of the Code. PANAJI he High Court of Bombay at Goa has pulled up the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour (IPHB) for failing to adhere to the mandatory child care leave (CCL) policy while rejecting a six-month leave request made by an employee to support her “weak student” son during his Class XII board examination preparations in 2020-21. However, the Court disposed of the petition as infructuous, observing that the purpose for which the leave was sought no longer survives. In the order delivered on Thursday, the Bench of Justice Neela Gokhale observed that T „„Petitioner’s grievance raised significant issue regarding failure of a govt authority to follow CCL policy „„Rules require any rejection of CCL to be placed before Minister, which was not done „„2014 circular man- dates minimum of 6 months CCL for female employees, subject to leave balance „„Concerned officer failed to adhere to applicable CCL policy „„Policy recognises women’s role in childcare „„Observes that non-adherence to policy deprived child of maternal support „„Finds lapse on part of official for not referring request to the minister the petitioner’s grievance raised an issue of significance, namely the failure of a government authority to adhere to the CCL policy framed by the Department of Personnel. The petition was filed by Va- lencio D’Souza after his wife, Millie Do Rosario, an assistant accounts officer at IPHB, was granted only 60 days of CCL against her request for 266 days during the Covid-19 pandemic, when their son was preparing for his Class 12 board examinations. The court recorded that while the leave was partly sanctioned from October 19 to December 17, 2020, the request for extension was later refused. D’Souza subsequently approached the Goa Human Rights Commission, which had dismissed his complaint as well as a later review plea. Examining the government circulars of February 20, 2013 and June 27, 2014, the High Court said the rules clearly required that any proposal to reject CCL must be placed before the Minister for Personnel for approval. It further noted that the 2014 circular specifically provided that the minimum period of CCL granted to a female government employee should not be less than six months, subject to leave balance. “Thus, it is clear that the >Continued on P9