Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) is preparing a conversion policy to allow holders of industrial estate plots in the state to acquire freehold title instead of leasehold. The proposal would enable business establishment owners to own industrial land and the corporation has framed draft amendments for submission to the state government. The board expects to seek an ordinance under Article 213 of the Constitution of India to enable the law change.

The conversion aligns with the Union government’s compliance reduction and deregulation initiative and mirrors liberal land policies adopted by several states. GIDC said the move aims to optimise land use within industrial clusters and that it will carry out a comparative analysis of state frameworks to shape the final policy. The corporation expects the measures to bring the state framework into parity with national reform objectives.

Proposals also include eased rules for transfer, sub-lease, subdivision and amalgamation of plots by allowing these actions through intimation rather than prior approval. To implement the changes GIDC plans amendments to the Goa Industrial Development Act, 1965 and to the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (Allotment, Transfer and Sub-Lease) Regulations, 2023. The board said it has already prepared draft amendments.

The financial model requires an upfront freehold premium from the plot leaseholder equal to the aggregate lease rent payable from the date of application to the expiry of the total lease term, viz. 95 years, together with any outstanding arrears and dues. The premium would be credited to a dedicated corpus fund whose principal would be preserved permanently and only the investment income used. The design is intended to create a long-term revenue stream without eroding the underlying capital.

GIDC cited states such as West Bengal, Delhi, Punjab and Karnataka as having permitted conversion with statutory safeguards to prevent speculative transactions and to protect public assets. The corporation said the conversions are expected to improve investor confidence, facilitate industrial investment and optimise utilisation of industrial land. Officials consider the package likely to have a positive long-term financial impact on the corporation’s balance sheet.