Goa Gazette, No. 2627-18, 30 July 2026

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Reg. No. RNP/GOA/32/2024-2026

RNI No. GOAENG/2002/6410

Panaji, ³⁰th July, ²⁰²⁶ (Sravana ⁸, ¹⁹⁴⁸) SERIES I No. 18

PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY

Note: There is an Extraordinary issue to the Official Gazette, Series I No. 17 dated 23/7/2026, namely, Extraordinary dated

28/7/2026 from pages 927 to 930 regarding establishment of Sub-Registrar Offices and formation of District for

purposes of the Indian Registration Act, 1908 from Department of Law & Judiciary.

INDEX

Department Type

Subject Page No

1 2

3 4

1. Agriculture Not.- 3/5/Crops & PP/17/HY&CS/2

932 026-27/D.Agri/474

State Sector Scheme- Assistance for High Yielding and Certified Seed.

2. Agriculture Not.- 3/Crops & PP/14/Improved Te

936 ch./2026-27/D.Agri/475

State Sector Scheme- Promoting Improved Technologies in Food Grain Crops.

3. Agriculture Not.- 3/5/Crops & PP/16/Rev. of Kh

939 azan/2026-27/D.Agri/476

State Sector Scheme Revitalization of Khazan lands by seed distribution of salt resistant paddy varieties at subsidized rates.

4. Empowerment of

940 Not.- 1/107/2025-26/DEPwD/Sch/ NSY/527

Mukyamantri Divyang Kendra Vandana Yojana.

Persons with Disabilities

5. Home Not.- 4/9/2020-HD(F&CD)/NRI/18

946 9

Extension of validity Goa Welfare/Pension Scheme for Seafarers, 2023.

946 6. Information and Publicity

Not.- DI/INF/JOUR-PENSION/12 0/2016/2794

Amendment of the Goa State Working Journalist Welfare Scheme 2021-22.

Not.- 8(14)/DITEC/2026/DBT/988 Notification under Section 7 of the

946 7. Information Technology, Electronics & Communications

Aadhaar Act, 2016 for "Providing Free Laptops to meritorious students belonging to ST & SC Communities".

Not.- 8(14)/DITEC/2026/DBT/990 Notification under Section 7 of Aadhaar

949

Act, 2016 for "Empowering ST/SC Communities using ICT Tools".

8. Information Technology, Electronics & Communications

953 9. Mines Ord.- 04/131/2025/Minor/Mines/13 79

SOP for regulating import of Minor Mineral.

10. Public Health Not.- 1/06/2026-II/PHD/1776 Policy for Engagement of MBBS Doctors 954

on Voluntary Short-Term Basis in Government Health Institutions of Goa.

Suggestions are welcomed on e-mail: [email protected] 931OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

11.   Revenue                Add.- 26/11/2016-RD/993            Expenditure on the creation of posts.      956
12.   Rural Development      Not.- DRDA-N/VB-GRAM-G/02/2        Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and     957
                             026-27                             Ajeevika Mission.
13.   Skill Development and  Not.- DSDE/PROJECT/Counsellin      Scheme for providing Counseling to the     975
      Entrepreneurship       g/2022-23/1032                     trainees in all Government Industrial
                                                                Training Institutes (ITI's) under
                                                                Directorate of Skill Development &
                                                                Entrepreneurship.
14.   Tribal Welfare         Not.- 1-285-2026-27/GSSTFDCL-      One Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme for       978
                             OTS Scheme/ADMN/DTW/2302           Interest Waiver under Ashraya Adhar
                                                                Scheme.

GOVERNMENT OF GOA

Department of Agriculture

Directorate of Agriculture

Notification

3/5/Crops & PP/17/HY&CS/2026-27/D.Agri/474 Date : 22-Jul-2026

The following scheme approved by Government of Goa is hereby published for general information of the public.

1. Short title & commencement.— (i) The scheme shall be called "State Sector Scheme: Assistance for High Yielding and Certified Seed".

(ii) It shall come into force with immediate effect and shall remain in force till it is withdrawn or amended by the Government of Goa.

2. Objectives.— (i) To provide quality seed of paddy, oilseeds and pulses to farmers and increase Seed Replacement Rate (SRR) to recommended levels.

(ii) To popularize coverage under high yielding/improved varieties thereby improving farmers income.

(iii) To ensure timely availability of seed.

(iv) To promote higher productivity & production of food grain crops and food security of the State.

3. Definition.— (i) High yielding seed: The produce of the seasonal cereal crops or oilseeds or pulses which is used for multiplication and raising of next generation of the crop and which has potential for higher yields than the conventional varieties.

(ii) Farmer: Cultivator growing field crops of paddy, groundnut, and pulses on his own land, land under tenancy or land on lease or with verbal agreement with the titled owner of the land. Persons cultivating cereals or pulses or oilseed individually or jointly as members of a group under common arrangements shall be also considered as farmers for the purpose of assistance under the scheme.

4. Eligibility.— (i) Farmers growing paddy, pulses, oil seeds and other field crops in the State of Goa.

(ii) Farmers Clubs, Farmers Associations and Self Help Groups registered under Societies Act and/or with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) or with the Directorate of Agriculture with members cultivating field crops collectively or individually.

(iii) Paddy transplanter service providers enrolled with the directorate under SSS: Modified Scheme for Custom Hiring in Agriculture to purchase paddy seeds in bulk directly from approved agencies at full cost for the purpose of mat nursery raising.

5. Pattern of Assistance.—

• The four approved agencies i.e. M/s. Goa Bagayatdar Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Saunstha Maryadit, Ponda, M/s. Goa Krishi Bazar Marketing and Processing Co-operative Society, Mapusa, M/s.

932 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

Pernem Taluka Farmers Society, Pernem and M/s Krishi Samrudhi Farmers Producers Company Ltd., Aldona, Bardez will procure quality/certified seeds of varieties recommended for cultivation in the State.

• Seeds from National Seeds Corporation Ltd. (NSC), National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED), State Seeds Corporation etc., and identified local seed producers shall be procured as per demand.

• In special cases, seeds of newer varieties/hybrids will be procured from reputed private seed producers and research institutions like State Agricultural Universities and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

• The Directorate of Agriculture will also procure seeds of such newer varieties/hybrids etc., from the above agencies as well as from local farmers selected under the departmental seed multiplication programme.

• All such seeds will be sold at 50% subsidy provided at point of sale through all branches of the above four agencies as well as departmental sub-offices. A farmer will be provided assistance to purchase a maximum of 120 kg. seed to cover 2.0 ha area. In case of farmers cultivating larger areas, a letter from concerned Zonal Agriculture Officer will have to be furnished mentioning seed eligibility. This limit will not apply to Farmers' Clubs, Farmers Associations or Farmer Groups cultivating paddy, pulses, oilseeds etc., jointly. However, such groups will have to furnish a list of member farmers to the Society concerned and the benefit would be restricted as per the area cultivated by the group.

• The subsidy provided at source shall be reimbursed directly to the concerned society by Department of Agriculture under this scheme.

• The farmers have option to purchase required quantity of high yielding and certified seed of paddy, groundnut and pulses directly from seed dealer of their choice after payment of full cost of seeds. Under such condition, subsidy of 50% of standard cost fixed by department from time to time or actual cost whichever is less shall be reimbursed to concerned farmer on production of bills towards purchase of seeds. The amount of subsidy to be reimbursed shall be decided based on the standard cost of seeds fixed by department from time to time, standard seed rate i.e. standard quantity of seeds required to sow one hectare, area covered by farmer.

• The farmers should purchase the high yielding and certified seeds from the seed dealer registered with Directorate of Agriculture or dealer having licence to sell the seeds issued by competent authority.

• The paddy tansplanter service providers shall purchase only paddy seeds from approved agencies at full cost with prior permission of the concerned ZAO and shall be eligible to claim reimbursement of 50% subsidy upon submission of prescribed documents.

6. Guidelines and procedure.— (i) The subsidy will be provided at source to farmers wherein farmers will purchase the seed at 50% of cost directly from the co-operative societies/departmental sub-offices.

(ii) The Co-operative Society concerned will furnish statement of beneficiaries at suitable intervals along with credit bill to Department of Agriculture as below:

a) Statement of beneficiaries provided seed at 50% subsidy at source:—

Name & Address of Co-operative Society & Branch:

Sr. No.	Receipt No.	Date	Name of the farmer	Village	Quantity of seed sold (kg.)	Rate Rs./kg.	Total value Rs.	50% subsidy to be reimbursed
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Seal and Signature933 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 b) Credit bill towards 50% cost of paddy seed sold:

BILL

Name of Co-operative Society

Bill No. ................................................ Date ................................

Season ..................................... Branch ............................

Sr. No.	Branch	Variety	Total seed sold (kg.)	Rate Rs./kg.	Total cost	50% amount collected from farmers	50% subsidy to be reimbursed
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8

Seal and Signature

(iii) The bill will be signed by the Managing Director of the Society and the statement by the Branch Manager of the concerned Branch.

(iv) The bill with enclosed statement shall be forwarded by the Head Office of the concerned society to the Zonal Agriculture Officer (Z.A.O.) in whose jurisdiction the branch is located within one month of the close of the season i.e. October for monsoons and February for rabi season.

(v) The Z.A.O. will scrutinize, verify and then certify the bill and forward it to the District Agriculture Office for sanction.

(vi) The bills shall be sanctioned as subsidy for reimbursement to the concerned co-operative society by electronic clearing system.

(vii) In case farmers purchase seeds of high yielding and certified seeds of paddy, oilseeds and pulses at full costs directly from seed dealers, under such condition concerned farmer shall (i) be fully responsible for purity, germination and quality of seed purchased and (ii) shall submit application to the Zonal Agriculture Officer (ZAO) of his/her jurisdiction along with original bills towards purchase of seeds. The ZAO upon receipt of application shall verify the quantity of seeds purchased and area covered by farmers. After verification, ZAO will forward the application to concerned District Agriculture Officer for sanction with recommendation of amount of subsidy to be reimbursed to farmer.

(vii) The service provider shall obtain prior permission from the ZAO before purchase of seeds. The service provider shall submit the requirement of seeds along with variety, name of the agency, through a handwritten application to the concerned ZAO, along with a copy of approval from the Directorate towards its enrolment as service provider.

(viii) Thereafter, they shall purchase seeds at full cost and claim reimbursement upon utilization of the seeds. The documents including seed purchase bills, statement of the farmers, authority letters from farmers to reimburse subsidy to service provider and bank details of service provider should support the claim. The service provider shall apply for subsidy within a period of three months from the date of execution of transplanting work.

(ix) The Z.A.O. will scrutinize, verify and then certify the claim and forward it to the District Agriculture Office for sanction.

(Variety wise statement of beneficiaries who are provided with seedlings for transplanting)

Name of the Paddy Transplanter Service Provider:

Address:

934 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

Total quantity of seeds procured: kgs.

Name of the agency:

Total Area transplanted in ___________ taluka: ha

Season:

Period of claim:

Sr. No.	Name of the farmer	Village	Date of work done	Variety	Area (sq. mts.)	Quantity seed utilised (kg.)	Rate Rs./kg.	Total value Rs.	50% subsidy to be reimbursed
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

Total

CERTIFICATE

I, the undersigned, Shri ____________________ (name of authorised person), on behalf of (Name of Organisation/Society/Club) hereby state that the above mentioned quantity of seeds have been utilised for raising of (mat nursery) seedlings for transplanting in the fields of respective farmers.

Date:

Seal and signature of the service provider

LETTER OF AUTHORITY FROM FARMER

I, Shri/Smt.___________________ r/o _________hereby authorize the Directorate of Agriculture to release the subsidy payable to me on purchase of seeds amounting to Rs. ______________ under SSS: Assistance for High Yielding and Certified Seeds in lieu of mat nursery utilized by M/s. (Name of the service provider).

Date:

Signature of the Farmer 7. Relaxation.— The Government shall be empowered to relax any or all clauses or conditions of the scheme in genuine cases. However release of financial assistance in such case will be considered only with the approval of Finance (Exp.) Department.

8. Interpretation.— If any question arises regarding interpretation of any clause, word, expression of the scheme, the decision shall lie with the Government, which shall be final and binding on all concerned.

9. Redressal of Grievances and Disputes.— Grievances if any, arising out of the implementation of this scheme, shall be heard and decided by the Minister for Agriculture and the decision of the Minister of Agriculture in this regard shall be final and binding on all concerned.

This is issued in supersession of following earlier notifications:

a. Notification No. 3/4/Agron/PPG/3-2(1)/2013-14/D.Agri dated 28/06/2013 published in the Official Gazette, Series I No. 15 dated 11th July, 2013.

935 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

b. Notification No. 3/4/Agron/PPG/3-2(I)2021-22/D.Agri/453 dated 27/08/2021 and published in Official Gazette, Series I No. 23 dated 2/09/2021.

c. Notification No. 3/4/Agron/PPG/3-2(I)2023-24/D.Agri/1260 dated 11/03/2024 and published in Official Gazette, Series I No. 50 dated 14/03/2024.

This is issued with the concurrence of the Finance Department under their U.O. No. 1400085640 dated 22/06/2026.

By order and in the name of the Governor of Goa.

Chandrahas Naik Dessai, Director of Agriculture & ex officio, Jt. Secretary.

Tonca-Caranzalem.

——————

Notification

3/Crops & PP/14/Improved Tech./2026-27/D.Agri/475 Date : 22-Jul-2026 Government of Goa is hereby pleased to implement the scheme "Promoting Improved Technologies in Food Grain Crops" in the State of Goa as below.

1. Short title and commencement.— The scheme shall be known as "Promoting Improved Technologies in Food Grain Crops".

It shall come into force with immediate effect and shall remain in force till it is withdrawn or amended by the Government of Goa.

2. Objectives.— (i) Evaluate new varieties with improved yield and/or quality characters in farmer's fields.

(ii) Popularize improved varieties of food grain crops which are superior to existing varieties.

(iii) Identify varieties suitable for region specific problems such as pest/disease incidence etc. (iv) Popularize labour and time saving cultivation techniques such as mechanized transplanting of paddy to increase net returns.

(v) Propagate new cultivation techniques e.g. System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method and Aerobic cultivation in paddy etc., to increase productivity.

3. Component of the programme.— (a) Distribution of seed minikits.

(b) Incentives for mechanized paddy transplanting.

(d) Demonstration.

4. Eligibility.— * The progressive farmer willing to take up new varieties of paddy as a challenge to test in their field and who would adopt the instructions given by departmental officers shall be considered for taking up minikit and SRI cultivation.

* The farmer selected should have appropriate fields with desired situation to facilitate trials.

* The farmer should be willing to provide details of operations done in the field and also allow other farmers to visit his/her field.

* In case of incentive for mechanized paddy transplanting groups/individuals Institutions/Societies with agriculture development as mandate owning mechanized paddy transplanters and ready to take up transplanting as a package in farmers field will be eligible. They will have to give an undertaking to cover at least 10 ha in a year at a standard cost per unit area that may be fixed from time to time by the Government.

936 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

5. Pattern of Assistance.—

(A) Distribution of seed minikits:— In order to evaluate and popularize cultivation of new and improved varieties from Indian Council of Agricultural Research Complex Goa, Agriculture Universities and Research Institutes or identified by the Department, seed minikits of these varieties will be provided to identified farmers free of cost. The normal size of each minikit shall be 2 kg. for paddy, 1 kg. for pulses, 5 kg. for groundnuts and 0.5 kg. for millers such as finger millet (Nachani), little millets (Vari), foxtail millet (Kongo), etc. Selected farmers shall be provided a maximum of two kits of paddy and pulses at a time depending on willingness of the farmers.

(B) Incentive for mechanized paddy transplanting:— Owners of transplanters taking up paddy transplanting as a package on farmers fields including raising of mat nursery shall be provided 50% subsidy limited to Rs. 1.00 lakh on purchase of trays/silpaulin sheets/sieves/wooden or metallic spacers for nursery blocks on silpaulin sheets etc.

1. Incentives to SRI farmers:— An amount of Rs. 20,000/- per hectare will be provided on pro rata basis to the farmers adopting SRI in a minimum area of 1000 m2 area to compensate towards the additional labour required for row planting and conoweeder operation etc.

(D) Demonstration:— New and improved varieties of various crops as well as technologies are being developed and released by research institutions which promises better yield and productivity from time to time. However, their adoption at the farmers' level remains limited due to perception of initial risk of failure and loss of their efforts and hard work. In order to bridge this gap, and to demonstrate the performance of improved varieties and technologies under field conditions with full package of inputs, labour support and technical guidance shall be provided to farmers under this component.

5. Guidelines and procedure.— The programme will be monitored by Dy. Director of Agriculture incharge of Crops section.

(A) Distribution of seed minikits:— (i) The farmers willing to undertake the demonstration of seed minikits shall be identified and covered under the schemes by Zonal Agriculture Officers.

(ii) The concerned Zonal Agriculture Officer will prepare the Utilization Certificate in the standard format along with list of beneficiaries with details of inputs supplied and forward the same to the Directorate of Agriculture.

(B) Incentive for mechanized paddy transplanting.— (i) The applicant will apply with the requisite documents to the concerned Zonal Agriculture Officer.

(ii) Zonal Agriculture Officer shall verify documents & costs and accord administrative approval for purchase and endorse a copy to Head Office.

(iii) After purchase, the applicant shall furnish original copies of receipts/purchase invoice or, in case of loan availed from bank, duplicate copy duly attested by Branch Manager to the Zonal Agricultural Officer.

(iv) The Zonal Agriculture Officer shall inspect the items and also verify that mat nursery has been raised and give his recommendation and forward the claim to respective District Agriculture Office for sanction.

(v) The District Agricultural Officer will scrutinize the documents and sanction the subsidy if in order.

(C) Incentives to SRI farmers:— (i) The farmers willing to undertake the SRI demonstration shall be identified and covered under the schemes by Zonal Agriculture Officers.

(ii) The Zonal Agriculture Officer shall inspect the SRI paddy after transplanting and give his recommendation and forward the claim to respective District Agriculture Office for sanction.

937 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(iii) The District Agricultural Officer will scrutinize the documents and sanction the subsidy if in order.

(D) Demonstration:— (i) The Zonal Agricultural Officer shall motivate and identify the farmers in their jurisdiction for purpose of demonstration.

(ii) Under this component a package of support shall be provided to farmers willing to undertake demonstration of new variety of paddy, pulses, millets and oilseeds which will include inputs such as quality seeds, soil conditioners, fertilizers, micronutrients, pesticides and fungicides, required for cultivation of minimum 1000 sq.mts.

(iii) The cost of inputs shall be restricted to Rs. 3000/- for paddy, Rs. 1500/- for pulses and millets and Rs. 2500/- for oilseeds.

(vi) Additionally Financial assistance towards labour cost @ Rs. 4000/- for paddy and Rs. 3000/- for pulses and oilseeds per 1000 sq. m. as a special support.

(vii) The cost towards hire of machinery is not considered as it is covered under another state scheme.

(viii) The total assistance provided crop-wise for 1000 sq. mts. demonstration will be as under:

Sr. No.	Crop	Cost of Inputs	Labour Cost	Total Cost
1	Paddy	Rs. 3000/-	Rs. 4000/-	Rs. 7000/-
2	Pulse	Rs. 1500/-	Rs. 3000/-	Rs. 4500/-
3	Oilseed	Rs. 2500/-	Rs. 3000/-	Rs. 5500/-

(ix) The Zonal Agriculture Officers shall provide timely technical guidance, monitor the plots and record the observations on performance of the variety.

(x) A farmer shall be eligible for maximum area of 2000 sq. mts. under this component.

(xi) The Zonal Agriculture Officer shall inspect the plots and give his recommendation and forward the claims to respective District Agriculture Office for sanction.

(xii) The District Agricultural Officer will scrutinize the documents and sanction the subsidy.

6. Relaxation.— The Government shall be empowered to relax any or all clauses or conditions of the scheme in genuine cases. However for release of financial assistance in such case will be considered only with the approval of Finance (Exp.) Department.

7. Interpretation.— If any question arises regarding interpretation of any clause, word, expression of the scheme, the decision shall lie with the Government, which shall be final and binding on all concerned.

8. Redressal of grievances and disputes.— Grievances if any, arising out of the implementation of this scheme, shall be heard and decided by the Minister for Agriculture and the decision of the Minister of Agriculture in this regard shall be final and binding on all concerned.

This is issued in supersession of earlier notifications listed below:

a) Notification No. 3/4/Agron/PPG/3-2(4)/2013-14/D.Agri dated 23/7/2013.

b) Notification No. 3/4/Agron/PPG/3-2(4)/2013-14/D.Agri/1 dated 15/1/2014 published in the Official Gazette, Series I No. 43 dated 23rd January, 2014.

c) Notification No. 3/CIN/Crops/50/Prom.Tech.in.Food Grain Crops/2017-18/489 dated 4/9/2017 published in the Official Gazette, Series I No. 24 dated 4th September, 2017 and

d) Notification No. 3/Crops & PP/50/Prom. Of Imp. Tech/2021-22/D.Agri/373 dated 4/8/2021 and published vide Official Gazette, Series I No. 21 dated 19/08/2021.

938 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

This is issued with the concurrence of the Finance Department under their U. O. No. 1400089329 dated 01/07/2026.

By order and in the name of the Governor of Goa.

Chandrahas Naik Dessai, Director of Agriculture & ex officio Jt. Secretary.

Tonca-Caranzalem.

——————

Notification

3/5/Crops & PP/16/Rev. of Khazan/2026-27/D.Agri/476 Date : 22-Jul-2026 The following scheme approved by Government of Goa is hereby published for general information of the public.

1. Short title & commencement.— (i) The scheme shall be called State Sector Scheme "Revitalization of Khazan lands by seed distribution of salt resistant paddy varieties at subsidized rates".

(ii) It shall come into force with immediate effect and shall remain in force till it is withdrawn or amended by the Government of Goa.

2. Objectives.— (1) Revitalization of neglected Khazan lands back to cultivation by providing seed of local Korgut and other salt resistant paddy varieties.

(2) Distribution of seed at 100% subsidized rate and improving productivity by adopting proper package of practices.

(3) Attract the younger generation back to agriculture specially under Khazan land ecosystem.

(4) Make available the quality seed material for improving the productivity.

3. Pattern of Assistance.— (i) The Directorate of Agriculture will procure seed of Korgut and other salt tolerant varieties from the registered seed growers under the departmental seed multiplication programme.

(ii) The three approved agencies in co-operative sectors i.e. M/s Goa Bagayatdar Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Saunstha Maryadit, Ponda; M/s Goa Krishi Bazar Marketing and Processing Co-operative Society, Mapusa and M/s Pernem Taluka Farmers Society, Pernem will also procure quality seed from Seed Corporations/Registered seed growers etc.

(iii) As special case, seed of new/high yielding salt resistant varieties will be procured from reputed private seed producers and Research Institutes like ICAR, Agriculture Universities etc.

(iv) All such seeds will be distributed at pre-fixed price of Rs. 50/- per kilo by the above three agencies and Departmental sub offices by providing 100% subsidy at source basis as per the existing arrangements.

(v) Farmers will be allowed subsidy for maximum 100 kgs. per farmer of salt tolerant paddy seed for cultivation.

(vi) The farmers cultivating the Khazan land will be identified by the respective Zonal Agriculture Officer and given the recommendation slip to collect the seed from the concerned Society.

(vii) The subsidy provided at source shall be reimbursed directly to the concerned Society by the Department of Agriculture under this scheme on submission of bills and statement.

4. Eligibility.— (i) Farmers cultivating Khazan rice fields in Goa and having Krishi Card issued by the Directorate of Agriculture.

(ii) Lease holders of Khazan rice fields in the State.

5. Checks adopted by Department for verification of the scheme:—

• The scheme shall be monitored by Crops and PP Section Section of the Directorate under control of Dy. Director of Agriculture I/C Crops and PP Section.

939 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

• Recommendation slip will be issued to collect the seed from the agency by concerned Zonal Agriculture Officer.

• Scrutiny of bills for seed supply will be done by Zonal Agriculture Officer.

• Cross checking and utilization certificates will be given by the concerned Zonal Agriculture Officer.

6. Relaxation.— The Government shall be empowered to relax any or all clauses or conditions of the scheme in genuine cases. However release of financial assistance in such case will be considered only with the approval of Finance (Exp.) Department.

8. Redressal of Grievances and Disputes.— Grievances, if any, arising out of the implementation of this scheme, shall be heard and decided by the Minister for Agriculture and the decision of the Minister of Agriculture in this regard shall be final and binding on all concerned.

This issues in supersession of earlier Notification No.: 3/4/Agron/PPG/3-2(3)/2015-16/D.Agri/104 dated 17th June, 2015 and was published in Official Gazette, Series I No. 13 dated 25th June, 2015 and with the concurrence of the Finance Department under their U.O. No. 1400092164 dated 29/06/2026.

By order and in the name of the Governor of Goa.

Chandrahas Naik Dessai, Director of Agriculture & ex officio Jt. Secretary.

Tonca-Caranzalem.

———♦♦♦———

Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities

Notification

1/107/2025-26/DEPwD/Sch/NSY/527 Date : 22-Jul-2026

Government of Goa is pleased to formulate a scheme "Mukyamantri Divyang Kendra Vandana Yojana", which will grant financial assistance in the form of grant to the Special Schools/Institution and NGO working for persons with disabilities.

The scheme is hereby published for general information of the public. This scheme shall come into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

1. Short title and commencement.— (1) This scheme shall be called as "Mukyamantri Divyang Kendra Vandana Yojana".

(2) This Scheme shall be applicable to State of Goa.

(3) The Scheme shall come into force from date of publication of Scheme in the Official Gazette.

2. Objective.— The objective of the scheme is to initiate comprehensive measures for equipping Special Schools/Institutions, NGOs, respite care homes, sheltered workshop, half way homes, early intervention centre in the State with basic minimum infrastructural facilities. The grant is meant for the improvement/creation of infrastructure like construction/renovation of special school buildings, respite care homes, sheltered workshop, half way homes, early intervention centre, toilets/bathroom, hostel facilities, construction of playground and to purchase equipment for security of the school including CCTV.

3. Applicability.— (1) Schools/Institutions, NGOs working in disability sector and registered under Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, shall be eligible for grant under the scheme subject to the fulfillment of other requirements.

940 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(2) Special Schools/Institutions/NGOs registered under RPwD Act, 2016 that have already started the constructions will also be covered under the schemes subject to the fulfillment of the requirement.

(3) Each Special Schools/Institutions/NGOs can avail the benefits of the Scheme only once in its lifetime.

4. Definition.— (i) Government: Means the Government of Goa.

(ii) Director: Means the Director of Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Porvorim.

(iii) Special Schools/NGOs: Means the Special Schools registered under Directorate of Education/ /NGOs who are registered as per RPwD Act, 2016 with Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

(iv) Educational Institution: Means registered Society under Society Act, 1860, Trust or any other recognized/registered body permitted to run the Educational Institution.

(v) Managing Committee: Duly constituted committee by institutions/NGOs running the school and authorized to deal with the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

(vi) DEPwD: Means Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

5. Condition of eligibility.— To obtain financial assistance in the form of grant under this scheme by the recognized Educational Institutions/NGOs, the following conditions apply:—

(A) Schools/Institutions

a. Minimum enrolment of the students with disabilities/persons with disabilities should be 15 numbers & above.

b. Special Schools/Institutions should be registered with Directorate of Education/DEPwD for running the School/Institution.

c. Special Schools/Institutions should provide:

i) Enrolment of students for previous and current financial year with names, address and UDID details.

ii) Committee of the institutions registered society under Society Act, 1860, Trust or any other recognized/registered body permitted to run the Educational Institution.

d. The inspection Report shall certify that the proposed/ongoing construction complies with the accessibility standards prescribed under the Harmonised Guidelines and standard for Universal Accessibility in India and applicable Building Codes.

e. Special Schools/Institutions should have own land OR possess a valid long-term registered lease of the land/building from Government of Goa, where the proposed infrastructure is to be developed. The institution must have a minimum built-up area of 300 sq. meters, along with an approved building plan and construction license issued by the competent authority.

f. Special Schools/Institutions should complete a minimum of five (05) years of continuous operation prior to applying for assistance and must continue operation for at least next 15 years. A binding declaration/undertaking must be provided and same will be used in court for prosecution if found guilty.

(B) NGO's

a. Minimum enrolment of the inmate with disability/persons with disabilities should be 15 numbers & above.

941 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

b. The NGOs should be registered under DEPwD as per RPwD Act 2016 and should work in disability sector for a minimum of 5 years.

c. NGOs should provide:

i) Enrolment with the strength of inmate for previous and current financial year with names, address and UDID details.

ii) Inspection report duly authorized by officers of DEPwD is necessary.

d. NGO should have own land Or possess a valid long-term registered lease of the land/building from Government of Goa where the infrastructure is proposed. The NGO must have a minimum built- up area of 300 sq. meters, along with an approved building plan and construction license issued by the competent authority.

g. NGO should complete a minimum of five (05) years of continuous operation prior to applying for assistance and must continue operation for at least next 15 years. A binding declaration/ /undertaking must be provided and same will be used in court for prosecution if found guilty.

6. Amount of grant to be sanctioned.—

(A) Special Schools/Institutions.— (i) Special schools more than five years old and having minimum 15 to 30 numbers of persons with disability beneficiaries shall be eligible for a Grant of Rs. 50 Lakh. The Grant however will be based on actual ground situation and need based with submission of the estimate.

(ii) Special schools more than five years old and having more than 31 to 60 numbers persons with disability beneficiaries shall be eligible for a Grant of maximum Rs. 100 Lakh. The Grant however will be based on actual ground situation and need based with submission of the estimate.

(iii) Special schools more than five years old and having more than 60 numbers of persons with disability beneficiaries and above shall be eligible for a Grant of maximum Rs. 200 Lakh. The Grant however will be based on actual ground situation and need based with submission of the estimate.

(B) Non-Government Organizations.— (i) The NGO's more than five years old and having minimum 15 to 30 persons with disability beneficiaries shall be eligible for a Grant of maximum of Rs. 50 Lakh. The Grant however will be based on actual ground situation and need based with submission of the estimate.

(ii) The NGO's more than five years old and having 30 and above persons with disability beneficiaries shall be eligible for a Grant of and above maximum Rs. 100 Lakh. The Grant however will be based on actual ground situation and need based with submission of the estimate.

7. Scrutiny and sanction.— An application for the grant of financial assistance shall be submitted to the Director, Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, in the prescribed format FORM 'A'. All proposals under the scheme shall be scrutinized by a committee constituting below as members:

1. Secretary (DEPwD) …… Chairman

2. Director of DEPwD …… Member Secretary

3. Assistant Accounts Officer (DEPwD) …… Member

4. Executive Engineer, being technical officer (PWD) …… Member

5. Deputy Director of (DEPwD) …… Member

The beneficiary who wishes to apply under this scheme shall be required to present details project proposal through a PowerPoint presentation before the designated committee.

942 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

The release of funds shall be subject to satisfactory evaluation of the presentation by the competent authority. The department reserves the right to approve, modify, or reject the proposal based on the merits of the presentation. The committee shall examine the proposal based on present and near future requirements of the institutions in terms of enrolment, likely growth, space constraints, land available/ acquired, details in concept paper, engineering specification and final estimates and recommend the case if found valid along with tentative funding under the scheme. The Government shall consider only the cases recommended by the scrutinizing committee as per eligibility of the applicant

8. Grant-in-aid limit.— The Government shall provide financial assistance in the form of grant-in-aid not exceeding 90% of the approved total cost of the project, and the beneficiary shall contribute the remaining 10% from its own resources.

9. Mode of disbursement of grant.— (i) As a first installment, 30% of the amount shall be released as a grant immediately on issue of the sanction letter after utilization of allotted amount, the School/NGO managing committee shall submit the report comprising utilization certificate, countersigned by Chartered Accountant, physical inspection and progress report countersigned by Registered Engineer to the DEPwD.

(ii) As a IInd installment, 50% of the amount shall be released by the DEPwD only after—

a) On production of a physical inspection and progress report countersigned by Registered Engineer and a Utilization certificate countersigned by C.A. and the certificate from the Architect stating that the first installment of 30% has been fully utilized for the purpose for which it was granted and after confirming the value of "the work executed" by the managing committee is equal or more than the funds released by the Government.

i) The balance 20% on production of a similar certificate as at (ii) above to the effect that the second installment of 50% has been fully utilized for the purpose for which it was granted. The completion/ /occupancy certificate of the building to the satisfaction of the department.

10. Recovery and Assets Reversion.— In the event that the beneficiary Organization ceases operation within 15 years the Competent Authority i.e. Director, Department for Empowerment of Person with Disabilities shall reserve right to recover the entire financial assistance in fully as a deemed appropriate and take over or reposes the Assets created with above financial assistance.

11. Time limit to start the work.— The institution shall start the work within 180 days of issue of the 1st installment. The Order to the contractor will be at estimated cost as approved or at lesser value. (Installment value for IInd Installment of 50% will be released after adjusting the excess in 1st Installment if the actual value of work order is lesser than the estimate and sanction will be modified accordingly).

12. Utilization period.— The total sanctioned amount is required to be utilized in the following time limits from date of issue of 1st installment for all fresh institutions:-

Sr. No.	Total amount sanctioned	Utilization time limits
1	Up to 10 lakh	08 months
2	10 to 30 lakh	16 months
3	30 lakh to 120 lakh	24 months
4	120 lakh to 150 lakh	30 months
5	150 lakh to 200 lakh	36 months

If the total sanctioned amount is not utilized within the above time limits, the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities reserves the right to curtail the sanctioned amount.

13. Other terms and conditions.— (a) If the institution fails to start the work within a period of 180 days of disbursement of first installment, the institution will have to deposit the entire amount disbursed to the DEPwD along with interest @ 10% which will be charged on the above amount with effect from one943 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 month after the date of disbursement. In the case of institution failing to utilize the amount within the time frame as specified in the scheme, the institution will have to deposit entire amount or balance amount left that has not been utilized along with interest @ 10% which will be charged on the total amount or balance amount unutilized with effect from one month after the date of disbursement. The amount shall be deposited to DEPwD as specified in sanction order in one installment by the beneficiary institution/NGO within a period of 15 days from the notice to the effect from DEPwD.

14. Government's Discretionary Powers & Discontinuation of Assistance.— I. The Government reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the scheme at any time, without assigning any reason. Furthermore, the Government may withhold, suspend, or permanently discontinue the release of financial assistance to any grantee institution if, in its sole judgment, there is:

a. Any misuse or misappropriation of the scheme funds,

b. Any deviation from the approved objectives of the scheme.

II. Any conduct or action by the grantee that appears to be an attempt to exploit or misuse the scheme, including using the beneficiaries or their representation to exert undue pressure or to extract further funds or concessions from the Government.

III. Such decisions of the Government shall be final and binding, and no claims or demands shall be entertained in respect of such actions.

15. Interpretation and Relaxation.— (i) The Government shall be the final authority concerning the interpretation of this Scheme.

(ii) The Government may amend or relax any of the provisions of this scheme for good and sufficient reason/(s).

The scheme shall remain in operation upto five years from the date of its publication.

This issues with the approval of Finance (Exp.) Division vide U.O. No. 1400117966 dated 29/06/2026.

By order and in the name of the Governor of Goa.

Varsha Naik, Director ex officio/Addl. Secretary (DEPwD).

Porvorim.

---------

FORM "A"

Application Format for Scheme to finance in the form of Grant, to the Special Schools/NGOs for the purpose of their upkeep and maintenance and upgrade the existing facilities (Infrastructure Grant Scheme).

1. Name of the Special Schools/NGO's/Society/Trust running the Institution: __________________ ________________________________________

2. Certificate of registration and recent renewal: _________________________________________ 3. The date of recognition: ___________________________________________________________ 4. Enrolment with the strength of beneficiaries for previous and current financial year with names, address and UDID.

5. Whether is it a composite Institution/NGOs?

6. If so, the section to which the Grant for ______________________________________________ 7. Is your Institution under Litigation with the Government? If so, give details. _________________ ______________________________________________________________________________944 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 8. Have your Institution obtained Grants any time before from the Govt. for the said purpose? ______________________________________________________________________________ 9. If yes, purpose of Grant and outstanding balance at the time of application ___________________ 10. Purpose of Grant applied: ___________________________________________

11. Amount of Grant applied for with details: ______________________________

Date: Signature:

Place: Name:

Designation:

Name of the organization:

Address (Office Seal):

I, ------------------------------------------------------------- in the capacity of the Chairman/President/Secretary of ------------------------------------------------ hereby declare that, I have read the rules of the scheme and the statements made by me in this application form are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. I further agree to abide by the terms and conditions of the scheme, if the Institution mentioned above is selected for the sanction of Grant. I, further undertake that in the event of the particulars given in this application being found false, Institution shall refund to the Government of Goa, the entire amount of the Grant sanctioned to the Institution and the Government's decision shall be final and binding.

Signature (Along with the seal)

Date:

Place:

Documents to be enclosed:-

(b) Inspection Report as regards to the accessibility of a resolution should be passed by the managing committee of the Institution/NGOs stating that the finance is required for renovation/new construction of the building, compound wall, purchase of land, development of play ground etc.

(c) Documents with regard to clear title of land/minimum 30 years lease where the construction/ /renovation to be done, has to be submitted.

(d) Copy of plan approved by the Country Town Planning Department/Planning Board in urban areas.

(e) NOC from the Panchayat/Municipality for the purpose of construction/renovation of the building.

(f) NOC from Health Department.

(g) The cost/estimate should be certified by a registered Engineers with competent authority (PWD)/ /Chartered Accountant.

(h) The institution should give an undertaking that they will utilize the grant for the purpose it was granted.

(i) Detailed Project Report.

945 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

Department of Home

Foreigners and Citizenship Division

Notification

4/9/2020-HD(F&CD)/NRI/189 Date : 09-Jul-2026 Read: Notification No. 4/9/2020-HD(F&CD)/NRI/10 dated 06/01/2023

The Government of Goa is hereby pleased to extend the Goa Welfare/Pension Scheme for Seafarers, 2023, which was earlier notified vide Notification read at preamble for further period of 01 (one) year w.e.f. 01st June, 2026.

This issues with concurrence of the Fin (Exp.) Department vide No. 1400106832 dated 25/06/2026.

By order and in the name of the Governor of Goa.

Manthan Manoj Naik, Under Secretary (Home-II).

Porvorim.

———♦♦♦———

Department of Information and Publicity

Notification

DI/INF/JOUR-PENSION/120/2016/2794 Date : 22-Jul-2026 In exercise of the powers conferred by the Goa State Working Journalist Welfare Scheme, 2021-22 and all other enabling powers under it, the Government of Goa makes the following clause to amend 'The Goa State Working Journalist Welfare Scheme, 2021-22' namely:—

1. Amendment to Clause 'X', Welfare Amount sub-clause (i) shall be read as:—

An amount of Rs. 15,000/- p.m. shall be disbursed as pension for pensioner & family pensioner.

This issues with the approval of FD under U.O. No. 87151 dated 29/6/2026.

By order & in the name of the Governor of Goa.

Abhir C. Hede, Director, Information & Publicity & ex officio Jt. Secy.

Panaji.

Note: The Scheme is published in the Official Gazette on January 13, 2022.

———♦♦♦———

Department of Information Technology, Electronics & Communications

Notification

8(14)/DITEC/2026/DBT/988 Date : 24-Jul-2026 Whereas, the use of Aadhaar number to establish identity enables individuals to receive subsidies, benefits and services in a convenient and seamless manner, obviates the need for multiplicity of documents to establish identity, simplifies processes and promotes transparency and efficiency:

And whereas, the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (hereinafter referred to as the said Department) in the Government of Goa (hereinafter referred to as the said Government) is administering "Providing Free Laptops to meritorious Students belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Communities" (hereinafter referred to as the said scheme):

946 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

And whereas, Free Laptops (hereinafter referred to as the said benefit) are distributed to top 10 meritorious students (5 boys & 5 girls) (hereinafter referred to as the beneficiaries) of Class X belonging to Schedule Tribe (ST)/Schedule Caste (SC) Communities from each of the talukas under the said scheme where M/s. ITG is designated as the Implementing Agency and the instructions and guidelines issued in respect thereof:

And whereas, expenditure for the said scheme is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of Goa:

And whereas, the said Department is desirous that the said Government, for the purpose of establishing identity of a beneficiary as a condition for the receipt of the said benefit, require that such beneficiary undergo authentication, or furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or in the case of an individual to whom no Aadhaar number has been assigned, make an application for enrolment:

Now, therefore, in pursuance of the provisions of Section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act), the Government of Goa hereby notifies the following, namely:—

1. (1) An individual desirous of availing of the said benefit under the said scheme shall be required to undergo authentication, or furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number.

(2) In case such an individual has not been assigned an Aadhaar number, he shall be required to make an application for enrolment:

Provided that if that individual is a child, such application shall be made only with the consent of his parent or legal guardian.

(3) In accordance with the provisions of regulation 12 of the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016, the said Department shall ensure enrolment of such beneficiaries who are yet to be enrolled, or update their Aadhaar details through appropriate measures, including coordination with Registrars and setting up enrolment centres at convenient locations or providing enrolment facilities by becoming a Registrar itself: Provided that till such time an Aadhaar number is assigned to such beneficiary, he may establish his identity to avail of the said benefit, by presenting the following documents to which he is entitled and which are valid at the time of presentation, or, in case the software provided or authorised by the said Department for such identification supports electronic obtaining of information evidencing the contents of such documents from the database of the authorities dealing with the preparation or maintenance thereof, by giving his consent for so obtaining, namely:

For a child below 18 years of age to whom an Aadhaar number has not been assigned:

(a) The acknowledgement of the beneficiary having undergone the process of enrolment, provided by the operator at the enrolment centre, containing the Enrolment ID (EID); and

(b) Any one of the following documents to evidence that the beneficiary is a child below 18 years of age, namely:—

(i) Certificate of birth given under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, as extracted from the entry made in the register of births regarding the birth of the beneficiary;

(ii) Indian passport;

(iii) Certificate or statement of marks of matriculation or 10th class or higher secondary or 12th class, issued by a recognised board of school education;

(iv) In respect of a child in need of care and protection or a child in conflict with law, who is housed by Child Care Institution registered as such with the State Government concerned under the rules made by it under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, certificate947 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 specifying his date of birth issued by the person-in-charge, superintendent, child welfare officer or probation officer of such institution;

(c) Any one of the following documents, having the photograph of the beneficiary, to evidence his relationship with the parent or legal guardian, namely:—

(i) Ration card;

(ii) Caste certificate or domicile certificate, issued by a Gazetted officer who is an Executive Magistrate or a revenue officer of the State Government, not below the rank of Tahsildar;

(iii) Medical or insurance identity card issued by a government entity or public sector enterprise to a retired or serving public servant or his family member;

(iv) Indian passport;

(v) Certificate or statement of marks of matriculation or 10th class or higher secondary or 12th class, issued by a recognised board of school education;

(vi) In respect of a child in need of care and protection or a child in conflict with law, who is housed by Child Care Institution registered as such with the State Government concerned under the rules made by it under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, certificate specifying his date of birth issued by the person-in-charge, superintendent, child welfare officer or probation officer of such institution; or

(vii) In respect of a beneficiary who has a legal guardian, adoption order or other document to evidence legal guardianship, which is issued by a court of law or competent authority under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999 or the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and the applicable rules and regulations made under the said Acts; or

(viii) Any other document as the said Department may specify.

(4) An officer designated by the said Department in this behalf shall check in respect of the documents presented or the information evidencing the contents thereof under Clause (3),—

(a) the status of the enrolment request by submitting the EID on my Aadhaar portal (https://myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/portal) to confirm that the EID is valid and that the enrolment request does not stand rejected; and

(b) the other documents, and for this purpose, may take the assistance of and share the information presented with any government entity or an authority that deals with the preparation or maintenance of the information contained in such documents.

2. In order to enable beneficiaries to avail of the said benefits conveniently, the Ministry shall make all necessary steps to ensure wide publicity through media to make the beneficiaries aware of the requirement of Aadhaar number under the said scheme.

3. Where the authentication of the Aadhaar number of a beneficiary done through any of the biometric- based modes of authentication (namely, facial image, fingerprints or iris scan based authentication) fails due to any reason, such as poor quality of biometric information, the following remedial mechanisms shall be adopted, namely:—

(a) In case any particular biometric-based mode of authentication is not successful, any other mode of biometric-based authentication or one-time pin (OTP) based authentication shall, wherever feasible and admissible, be offered;

948 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(b) In cases where biometric-based or OTP-based modes of authentication are not possible, benefits under the said scheme may, after establishing the genuineness of the Aadhaar number by doing offline verification of the digital signature certificate of UIDAI on the Aadhaar Secure Quick Response (QR) Code or the Aadhaar Paperless Offline e-KYC document, as the case may be, be given on the basis of any of the following:

(i) An Aadhaar Secure Quick Response (QR) Code containing Aadhaar card, Aadhaar letter (i.e. the letter issued to an Aadhaar number holder on generation of his Aadhaar number) or e-Aadhaar (i.e. the password-protected electronic copy of Aadhaar letter downloadable from the website of UIDAI or accessible using its mAadhaar app), after its genuineness is established through offline verification by scanning the QR code using the Aadhaar QR Scanner or mAadhaar apps.

(ii) Aadhaar Paperless Offline e-KYC document (downloadable from the website of UIDAI or accessible using its mAadhaar app), after its genuineness is established through offline verification of the digital signature certificate of UIDAI on the document through the application developed by the Ministry or Department or scheme implementing agency concerned for this purpose, in accordance with the details given in this regard on the website of UIDAI.

4. Notwithstanding anything contained hereinabove,—

(a) benefit under the said scheme shall not be denied to a child—

(i) in case of failure to establish his identity by undergoing authentication or to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number; or

(ii) in case of production of an application for enrolment where he has not been assigned an Aadhaar number; and

(b) benefit under the said scheme shall be given to such a child by verifying his identity and establishing his relationship with his parent or legal guardian in the manner specified in the proviso to Clause (3) of paragraph 1; and

(c) where benefit is given under Clause (b), a record shall be maintained in respect of the same, which shall be reviewed and audited periodically by the Department.

5. In order to ensure that bona fide beneficiaries who are aged 18 years or more are not deprived of the benefit due to them under the said scheme, the Department shall follow the exception handling mechanism specified in the Office Memorandum No. D-26011/04/2017-DBT, dated the 19th December, 2017 of the Direct Benefit Transfer Mission, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India (available on https://dbtbharat.gov.in).

6. This notification shall be effective from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Kabir Shirgaonkar, Director (ITE&C) & ex officio Jt. Secretary.

Panaji.

——————

Notification

8(14)/DITEC/2026/DBT/990 Date : 24-Jul-2026

Whereas, the use of Aadhaar number to establish identity enables individuals to receive subsidies, benefits and services in a convenient and seamless manner, obviates the need for multiplicity of documents to establish identity, simplifies processes and promotes transparency and efficiency:

And whereas, the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (hereinafter referred to as the said Department) in the Government of Goa (hereinafter referred to as the949 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 said Government) is administering "Empowering Schedule Tribe (ST)/Schedule Caste (SC) Communities using ICT tools" (hereinafter referred to as the said scheme):

And whereas, IT related trainings (hereinafter referred to as the said benefit) is given to the Schedule Tribe (ST)/Schedule Caste (SC) Communities (hereinafter referred to as the beneficiaries) free of cost under the said scheme. This scheme shall be implemented through the various IT Knowledge Centers (ITKC) setup across the State. The Department through M/s. ITG empanels training centers to conduct IT courses under the banner of IT Knowledge Centers (ITKCs) and the instructions and guidelines issued in respect thereof:

And whereas, expenditure for the said scheme is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of Goa;

And whereas the said Department is desirous that the said Government, for the purpose of establishing identity of a beneficiary as a condition for the receipt of the said benefit, require that such beneficiary undergo authentication, or furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or in the case of an individual to whom no Aadhaar number has been assigned, make an application for enrolment;

1. (1) An individual desirous of availing of the said benefit under the said scheme shall be required to undergo authentication, or furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number.

(2) In case such an individual has not been assigned an Aadhaar number, he shall be required to make an application for enrolment:

Provided that if that individual is a child, such application shall be made only with the consent of his parent or legal guardian.

Provided that till such time an Aadhaar number is assigned to such beneficiary, he may establish his identity to avail of the said benefit, by presenting the following documents to which he is entitled and which are valid at the time of presentation, or, in case the software provided or authorised by the said Department for such identification supports electronic obtaining of information evidencing the contents of such documents from the database of the authorities dealing with the preparation or maintenance thereof, by giving his consent for so obtaining, namely:

For a child below 18 years of age to whom an Aadhaar number has not been assigned:

(a) The acknowledgement of the beneficiary having undergone the process of enrolment, provided by the operator at the enrolment centre, containing the Enrolment ID (EID); and

(b) Any one of the following documents to evidence that the beneficiary is a child below 18 years of age, namely:—

(i) Certificate of birth given under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, as extracted from the entry made in the register of births regarding the birth of the beneficiary;

(ii) Indian passport;

(iii) Certificate or statement of marks of matriculation or 10th class or higher secondary or 12th class, issued by a recognised board of school education;

950 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(iv) In respect of a child in need of care and protection or a child in conflict with law, who is housed by Child Care Institution registered as such with the State Government concerned under the rules made by it under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, certificate specifying his date of birth issued by the person-in-charge, superintendent, child welfare officer or probation officer of such institution; or

(c) Any one of the following documents, having the photograph of the beneficiary, to evidence his relationship with the parent or legal guardian, namely:—

(i) Ration card;

(ii) Caste certificate or domicile certificate, issued by a Gazetted Officer who is an Executive Magistrate or a Revenue Officer of the State Government, not below the rank of Tahsildar;

(iii) Medical or insurance identity card issued by a government entity or public sector enterprise to a retired or serving public servant or his family member;

(iv) Indian passport;

(v) Certificate or statement of marks of matriculation or 10th class or higher secondary or 12th class, issued by a recognised board of school education;

(viii) Any other document as the said Department may specify.

For beneficiaries aged 18 years or more to whom an Aadhaar number has not been assigned:

(a) The acknowledgement of the beneficiary having undergone the process of enrolment, provided by the operator at the enrolment centre, containing the EID; and

(b) Any one of the following documents, having the beneficiary's photograph, namely:—

(i) Elector's Photo Identity Card issued by the Election Commission of India;

(ii) Ration card;

(iii) Caste certificate or domicile certificate, issued by a Gazetted Officer who is an Executive Magistrate or a Revenue Officer of the State Government, not below the rank of Tahsildar;

(iv) Medical or insurance identity card issued by a government entity or public sector enterprise to a retired or serving public servant or his family member;

(v) Indian passport

(vi) Certificate or statement of marks of matriculation or 10th class or higher secondary or 12th class, issued by a recognised board of school education;

951 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(vii) Identity card or other identity document issued to serving or retired public servant by a government entity or a public sector enterprise;

(viii) Disability certificate issued by notified medical authority under Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017, or Unique Disability Identification (UDID) card issued by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Government of India;

(ix) Driving licence issued in India;

(x) In respect of a child in need of care and protection or a child in conflict with law, who is housed by Child Care Institution registered as such with the State Government concerned under the rules made by it under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, certificate specifying his date of birth issued by the person-in-charge, superintendent, child welfare officer or probation officer of such institution;

(xi) In respect of a beneficiary who has a legal guardian, adoption order or other document to evidence legal guardianship, which is issued by a court of law or competent authority under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999 or the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and the applicable rules and regulations made under the said Acts; or

(xii) Any other document as the said Department may specify:

(4) An officer designated by the said Department in this behalf shall check in respect of the documents presented or the information evidencing the contents thereof under Clause (3),—

(i) An Aadhaar Secure Quick Response (QR) Code containing Aadhaar card, Aadhaar letter (i.e. the letter issued to an Aadhaar number holder on generation of his Aadhaar number) or e-Aadhaar (i.e., the password-protected electronic copy of Aadhaar letter downloadable from the website of952 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 UIDAI or accessible using its mAadhaar app), after its genuineness is established through offline verification by scanning the QR code using the Aadhaar QR Scanner or mAadhaar apps.

4. Notwithstanding anything contained hereinabove,—

(a) benefit under the said scheme shall not be denied to a child—

(i) in case of failure to establish his identity by undergoing authentication or to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number; or

(ii) in case of production of an application for enrolment where he has not been assigned an Aadhaar number; and

(c) where benefit is given under Clause (b), a record shall be maintained in respect of the same, which shall be reviewed and audited periodically by the Department.

6. This notification shall be effective from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Kabir Shirgaonkar, Director (ITE&C) & ex officio Jt. Secretary.

Panaji.

———♦♦♦———

Department of Mines

Directorate of Mines and Geology

Order

04/131/2025/Minor/Mines/1379 Date : 27-Jul-2026

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-rule (3) of Rule 47A of the Goa Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as 'the said Rules'), the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for regulating import of minor mineral from outside the State of Goa for the purpose of export from the State of Goa, shall be as follows, namely:—

(1) Upon receipt of application under sub-rule (1) of Rule 47A of the said Rules, the Competent Officer or an Officer authorized by the Competent Officer, if satisfied, may issue permission for transit of minor mineral into the State after the payment of processing fees as prescribed under sub-rule (2) of Rule 47A of the said Rules.

(2) Any person who intends to store or process the minor mineral brought in the State of Goa shall apply for permission to the Competent Officer, declaring the proposed storage location of minor mineral,953 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 type, quantity of the minor mineral along with such other details as may be specified by the Competent Officer and obtain all the necessary permissions from the concerned authorities.

(3) Upon receipt of the application, the Competent Officer, if satisfied, may issue permission for storage/processing of minor mineral, as the case may be.

(4) For transit of the stored or processed minor mineral, the applicant shall apply to the Competent Officer to issue a transit permit or export permit, as the case may be, stating the nature, quantity, type of mineral, the mode of transport to be used and the destination. In case of processed minor mineral, the applicant shall submit the details and quantity of processed mineral and waste generated.

(5) The Competent Officer or an Officer authorized by the Competent Officer, after conducting such inquiry as he deems fit, shall issue a transit permit or export permit, as the case may be, on the basis of which transit passes shall be issued.

(6) The Competent Officer may, for the purposes of better monitoring, require the applicant to install weighbridges or impose such other conditions as may be felt necessary.

Narayan Gad, Director, Directorate of Mines and Geology.

Panaji.

———♦♦♦———

Department of Public Health

Notification

1/06/2026-II/PHD/1776 Date : 08-Jul-2026 The Government of Goa notifies the following Policy for Engagement of MBBS Doctors on Voluntary Short-Term Basis in Government Health Institutions of Goa:—

1. Title.— This policy shall be called the "Voluntary Engagement Scheme for MBBS Doctors (Short- Term Tenure) in Government Health Institutions of Goa". The designation of the selected doctors will be Junior Resident/Medical Officer

2. Background and Rationale.— The policy aims to overcome the shortage of doctors in various Government Hospitals and Health Centers by engaging MBBS graduates who pass out annually from Goa Medical College after completion of their internship. To bridge this gap and ensure optimal utilization of trained medical manpower, it is proposed to engage freshly graduated MBBS doctors on a voluntary, short- term basis.

3. Objectives.— The objectives of the policy are as follows:—

• To address the shortage of doctors in Government Health Institutions.

• To provide practical exposure and clinical experience to newly graduated MBBS doctors.

• To strengthen public healthcare delivery across the State.

4. Eligibility Criteria.—

• Candidates must have completed MBBS from Goa Medical College.

• Completion of compulsory rotatory internship is mandatory.

• Must possess valid registration with the State Medical Council/National Medical Commission.

• Should be willing to serve in any Government Health Institution in Goa.

5. Nature of Engagement.— Engagement shall be purely voluntary and tenure basis and the tenure shall be for a fixed period of 1 year only.

954 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

No extension of tenure shall be permitted under any ordinary circumstances and the engagement shall not confer any right to permanent employment in Government service.

6. Remuneration.— A consolidated monthly remuneration of ₹ 80,000/- (Rupees eighty thousand only) shall be paid to these MBBS graduates during their tenure of service. No additional allowances or benefits shall be admissible.

7. Mechanism of Engagement and Posting.— Every year, preferably in the month of January, Directorate of Health Services shall send a list of Hospitals/Health Centre wise requirement to Goa Medical College for engaging the MBBS Doctors. Goa Medical College will prepare a consolidated list including their requirement to the above list for MBBS batches of last 3 previous Academic years with capping of 200 No. of doctors.

The counselling/interview will be conducted at Goa Medical College. Dean, Goa Medical College shall then take the willingness of the MBBS graduates along with their preferred posting as indicated in the vacancy list strictly in the order of merit of the graduates in their MBBS course with preference given to most recently passed out batch. The candidate ranked highest in merit in respective batches shall be given the first choice of posting, followed by previous batches sequentially. Those posting of selected candidates will be for 6 months each at Goa Medical College and 6 months at Directorate of Health Services with posting orders issuesed GMC.

8. Place of Posting.— Posting shall be as per the choice of the candidate based on merit and requirement in Goa Medical College, or other Government Health Institution i.e. District Hospitals, Sub- District Hospitals, Community Health Centers (CHCs), Primary Health Centers (PHCs) or other Health Facilities furnished by Directorate of Health Services.

Once a candidate opts for a particular facility, change of posting shall not be permitted and joining should be at the earliest.

9. Duties and Responsibilities.— MBBS Doctors engaged shall carry out the duties such as:

• Provide outpatient and inpatient care.

• Participate in emergency and on-call duties.

• Assist in implementation of national health programmes.

• Maintain proper medical records and reporting.

• Any other duties assigned by the Dean/Head of Department/Health Officer/Medical Superintendent/ /Directorate of Health Services.

10. Working Conditions.— Doctors shall be required to follow duty hours as prescribed by the Goa Medical College/Directorate of Health Services which includes shift duties, night duties and emergency duties.

11. Leave Policy.— Leave up to 2 and ½ days per completed month during the tenure and other Statutory Leaves as admissible shall be granted. This leave may be granted prior to NEET or other competitive exams by the competent authority.

12. Termination of Engagement.— Engagement may be terminated by the candidate with three months notice time. The Government also reserves the right to terminate the engagement for reasons like unsatisfactory performance, misconduct and unauthorized absence.

Only in exceptional cases, Government shall reserve the right to terminate the engagement on immediate basis.

13. Monitoring and Evaluation.— Performance shall be reviewed periodically by the Goa Medical College/Directorate of Health Services.

14. No claim for Regularization.— This engagement shall be purely on tenure basis and shall not be treated as Government service. Further, no claim for regularization, seniority or pensionary benefits shall arise due to this engagement.

955 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

15. Implementation Authority.— Dean, Goa Medical College, shall be the nodal authority for implementation of the scheme.

16. Effective Date.— This policy shall come into force from the date of its notification by the Government of Goa and will be first effective for the MBBS Batch who have passed out in Academic Year 2025-26.

By order and in the name of the Governor of Goa.

Sitaram G. Sawal, Under Secretary (Health-I).

Porvorim.

———♦♦♦———

Department of Revenue

Addendum

26/11/2016-RD/993 Date : 24-Jul-2026 Read: Order No. 26/11/2016-RD/399 dated 20/03/2026

The following para shall be added after para (1) of the Government Order dated 20/03/2026, read at preamble:

The details of the newly created posts are shown below:

Sr. No.	Designation	Pay Scale	No. of posts created
Non-Ministerial (Non-Lapsable) Posts
1.	Inspector of Survey and Land Records, (Group 'B' Gazetted)	9,300-34,800+ GP 4,800 (Level-8)	02
	Total		02

The expenditure on the creation of the above posts would be met from the Budget Head mentioned against the posts:

1) Inspector of Survey and Land Records, Bardez

2029 — Land Revenue;

00 — ;

102 — Survey and Settlement Operation;

01 — Survey and Settlement Operation in Goa (NP);

00 — General;

01 — Salaries (Non Plan).

2) Inspector of Survey and Land Records, Mormugao

2029 — Land Revenue;

02 — ;

102 — Survey and Settlement Operation;

04 — City Survey;

00 — General;

01 — Salaries (Non Plan).

By order and in the name of the Governor of Goa.

Vrushika Kauthankar, Under Secretary (Revenue-I).

Porvorim.

956 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

Department of Rural Development

Notification

DRDA-N/VB-GRAM-G/02/2026-27 Date : 21-Jul-2026 In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) VB-GRAM G Act, 2025 (Central Act 36 g 2025), the Government of Goa hereby makes the following Scheme, namely:—

CHAPTER I

Short Title, Extent Commencement and Definitions

1. Short title extent and commencement.— (1) This Scheme may be called the "Viksit Bharat—

Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) VB–GRAM G (GOA) Scheme, 2026.

(2) It shall extend to the rural areas of the State of Goa.

(3) It shall come into force from the 1st day of July, 2026.

2. Definitions.— In this scheme, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) "Act" means the Viksit Bharat- Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin): VB-G Ram G Act, 2025 (Central Act 36 g 2025);

(b) "adult" means person who has completed the eighteenth years of age;

(c) "applicant" means the head of a household or any of its other adult members who has applied for employment under the Scheme;

(d) "Block" means a community development area within a district comprising a group of Gram Panchayats;

(e) Block Development Officer - means officers appointed under Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994;

(f) "Centrally Sponsored Scheme" means a scheme in which the Central Government provides full or partial financial assistance and the Government of Goa undertake its implementation;

(g) District Programme Co-ordinator" means an officer of the Government of Goa designated as such officer under sub-section (1) of Section 17 of the Act for the implementation of the Scheme in a district;

(h) Gram Rozgar Sahayak– Appointed by Government at Gram Panchayat under MGNREGA scheme.

(i) "Government means the Government of Goa;

(j) "household" means the members of a family related to each other by blood, marriage or adoption and normally residing together and sharing meals or holding a common ration card;

(k) "implementing agency" includes any Department of Rural Development, Gram Panchayat or any authority authorised by Government, to undertake the implementation of the Scheme;

(l) MGNREGA means Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act/Scheme;

(m) "National Level Steering Committee" means a steering committee constituted by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of Section 14 of the Act;

(n) "normative allocation" means the allocation of the fund made by the Central Government to the State;

(o) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;

(p) "Programme Officer" means an officer appointed under sub-section (1) of Section 18 of the Act; (q) "rural area" means any area in a State except those areas covered by any urban local body or a Cantonment Board established or constituted under any law for the time being in force;

957 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(r) "Schedule" means Schedules appended to the Act;

(s) "Scheme" means the Scheme notified by the Government of Goa under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Act;

(t) "State" means a State specified in the First Schedule to the Constitution and includes a Union territory;

(u) "State Council" means the State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council constituted under sub-section (1) of Section 13 of the Act;

(v) "State Level Steering Committee" means a steering committee constituted under sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the Act;

(w) "unskilled manual work" means any physical work which any adult person is capable of doing without any specialised skill or formal training;

(x) "Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack" means the consolidated aggregation comprising proposed works emerging from the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans aggregated at the District and State levels, and aligned with the four thematic domains of works specified in Schedule I: of the Act.

(y) "Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan" means a future-ready, convergence- based local development plan aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047, formulated by the Gram Panchayat through a participatory and evidence-based process, and serving as the basis for identification and prioritisation of works under the Act, as provided in sub-section (3) of Section 4 of the Act;

(z) "Wage rate" means the wage rate referred to in Section 10 of the Act;

(aa) "Work" means any work undertaken or executed under the Scheme;

"(bb) Works and experiences used herein but not defined in the Act shall have same meaning as assigned to them in the Act;

CHAPTER II

Objectives and Guiding Principles

3. Objectives.— The primary objective of this Scheme is to align the rural development framework with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047 by providing an enhanced statutory wage-employment guarantee of one hundred and twenty-five days in each financial year to such rural households whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work, thereby enabling them to participate more effectively in the expanded livelihood security framework.

(b) To focus on empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation through public works aggregating into forming Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, with a thematic focus on water security through water-related works, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure and special works to mitigate extreme weather events.

(c) To facilitate adequate farm-labour availability during peak agricultural seasons, and, in view of the wage-employment guarantee for the rural workforce.

(d) To institutionalise convergence, saturation-driven planning and whole of government delivery through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, integrated with the PM Gati Shakti to address the varying needs of Gram Panchayats, powered by geospatial systems, digital public infrastructure, district and State planning mechanisms, with such plans aggregated at the Block, District, State and National levels.

(e) To modernise governance, accountability and citizen engagement through a comprehensive digital ecosystem, including biometric authentication at various levels, global positioning system or mobile based worksite monitoring, real time management information system dashboards, proactive public disclosures and the use of Artificial Intelligence for planning, audits and fraud risk mitigation.

958 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

CHAPTER III

Guarantees, Time Limits and Conditions

4. Guarantee.— The Government shall, in such rural area in the State as may be notified by the Central Government, provide to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work, not less than one hundred and twenty-five days of guaranteed employment in a financial year in accordance with the Scheme.

(b) Every person who has done the work given to him under the Scheme shall be entitled to receive wages at the wage rate for each day of work.

(c) The disbursement of daily wages shall be made on a weekly basis or in any case not later than a fortnight after the date on which such work was done.

(d) If an applicant for employment under the Scheme is not provided such employment within fifteen days of receipt of his application seeking employment or from the date on which the employment has been sought in the case of an advance application, whichever is later, he shall be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance in accordance with the provision of this scheme.

(e) In case the payment of wages is not made within fifteen days from the date of closure of the muster roll, the wage seekers shall be entitled to receive payment of compensation for the delay, at the rate in accordance with the Act beyond the sixteenth day of closure of muster roll.

5. Conditions for demand.— Every adult member of a registered household whose name appears in the Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card, shall be entitled to apply for unskilled manual work under the Scheme; and every such application shall be compulsorily registered, and a receipt issued with the date, which shall be entered in the given digital platform.

(2) The State shall proactively verify the requirements of the Vulnerable Groups and provide them with work.

(3) Application for work may be oral or written and made to the Ward member or to the Gram Panchayat or to the Programme Officer or any person authorised by the Government or through digital platforms, or through any other means authorised by the Government.

(4) Applications for work may be filed individually or for a group together.

CHAPTER IV

Planning Framework

6. Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan (VGPP).— A future-ready, convergence based local development plan aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047 shall be, formulated by the Gram Panchayat through a participatory and evidence-based process, and serving as the basis for identification and prioritisation of works under this Scheme.

(2) There shall be a systematic and participatory planning exercise undertaken at each tier of the Panchayati Raj system in accordance with the specified methodology. The Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans shall be prepared by the Gram Panchayats using GIS-based tools, PM Gati Shakti layers and other digital public infrastructure, and placed before the Gram Sabha for approval. Works proposed to be undertaken by the Intermediate Panchayat, shall likewise be placed before the respective Panchayats along with the expected outputs and outcomes. The Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans shall be aggregated at the Block, District and State levels to ensure coherence with sectoral priorities, broader rural development strategies, and saturation-based planning for comprehensive coverage of eligible assets and outcomes across all Gram Panchayats. All works emerging from the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans shall be consolidated into the Viksit Bharat—National Rural Infrastructure Stack.

(3) Every Gram Panchayat shall prepare saturation-mode plans based on its classification into Category A, B, C, etc., determined based on development parameters, including proximity to urban areas, to address the varying needs of the Panchayats. All such works shall be drawn exclusively from the959 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 approved Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan, prepared using PM Gati Shakti, GIS-based tools and other digital public infrastructure.

(4) Annual plans would be prepared on the basis of the normative allocation.

(5) The works identified in the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans shall be executed through various Central, State and local schemes in convergence. The schemes to be taken up for such convergence shall be notified by the Central Government.

(6) While preparing Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans and annual labour demand, no work shall be proposed for execution during notified peak agricultural periods.

7. Framework for Convergence and Integrated Planning.— A Unified Convergence Framework shall be established for coherent planning, execution and monitoring of all works undertaken in rural areas, and for this purpose—

(1) All Central, State or local schemes, as may be notified by the Central Government for the purpose of convergence and saturation-based planning, shall be brought under a unified planning process anchored in the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans.

(2) All existing assets and proposed works, whether funded under this Scheme or through any other Central, State or local scheme, shall be mandatorily registered and tracked through the Viksit Bharat— National Rural Infrastructure Stack using the designated digital portal, which shall maintain a comprehensive register of rural public works, prevent duplication, integrate departmental investments, and align all works with saturation outcomes.

(1) Single digital backbone for rural public works covering water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and special works to mitigate extreme weather events; and all planning shall follow a strict bottom-up process beginning with the preparation of the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan, which shall be successively aggregated at the Block, District and State levels, and the aggregated State Plan shall be placed before the State Level Steering Committee for approval. Annual plans would be prepared on the basis of the normative allocation.

(2) Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack shall guide States, Districts and Panchayati Raj Institutions in identifying priority infrastructure gaps, standardising work designs, and ensuring that public investments contribute measurably to saturation outcomes at the Gram Panchayat, Block and District levels.

(3) This institutional architecture shall ensure a single-plan, multi-funding approach, promote convergence across departments and schemes, and align all rural development efforts with the Viksit Bharat @ 2047 vision of creating productive, resilient and transformative rural assets.

CHAPTER V

State Institutional Architecture

8. State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council.— At the State level, there shall be a State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council, which shall be called the "Goa State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council". The Goa State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council shall consist of the following office bearers/members—

(i) Chief Minister, Government of Goa— Chairperson.

(ii) Minister, Panchayat and Rural Development— Vice-Chairperson.

(iii) Ministers of Finance, Forest, Water Resources, Revenue, Public Works, Agriculture, Tribal and Scheduled Caste Welfare, Labour, and such others Ministers of Government of Goa, as may be decided by the Government time to time.

(iv) Chief Secretary, Government of Goa.

(v) Secretary/Principal Secretary of the respective department.

(vi) Director, Viksit Bharat— Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Goa Scheme—

Member Secretary.

960 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(vii) Not more than 9 non-official members nominated by the Government, representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions, representatives of non-governmental organizations and weaker sections of the society.

(2) The terms and conditions subject to which the Chairperson and members of the State Council may be appointed and the time, place and procedure of the meetings (including the quorum at such meetings) of the Council shall be as specified by the Government and one meeting shall be held atleast once in a year.

(3) The duties and functions of the Goa State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council shall be as follows:—

(i) advising the Government on all matters concerning the Scheme and its implementation in the State;

(ii) reviewing the monitoring and redressal mechanisms from time to time and recommending improvements;

(iii) monitoring the implementation of Act and the Scheme in the State and coordinating such implementation with the Central Council;

(iv) preparing the annual report to be laid before the State Legislature by the Government; (v) any other duty or function as may be assigned to it by the Central Council or the Government. (4) The State Council shall have the power to undertake an evaluation of the Scheme operating in the State and for that purpose to collect or cause to be collected statistics pertaining to the rural economy and the implementation of the Scheme and Programmes in the State.

9. State Level Steering Committee.— There shall be a State Level Steering Committee, chaired by Chief Secretary to provide operational guidance, coordination, and monitor the implementation of the Scheme.

(2) Members, namely:—

(i) Principal Secretary or Secretary of the respective Department;

(ii) the Director of Rural Development (in-charge of the Scheme);

(3) The State Level Steering Committee shall—

a. oversee State wide planning and convergence with other programmes;

b. review of district performance and ensure timely preparation of the aggregate State plan;

c. co-ordinate with the National Level Steering Committee and implement directions issued therefrom;

d. support digital systems, monitoring arrangements, and process improvements at the State level; and

e. perform such other functions as may be assigned to it by the Government.

f. Director, Directorate of Rural Development shall ensure the implementation of the scheme for which any required direction, administrative orders or any other action deemed fit shall be issued time to time to the District, Block and Panchayat Level functionaries under the Scheme.

10. District Programme Coordinator (DPC).— Project Directors, District Rural Development Agencies shall be District Programme Coordinators for implementation of the scheme in the respective District.

(2) The functions of the District Programme Coordinator shall be as follows, namely:—

(i) the District Programme Coordinator shall be responsible for the consolidation and finalisation of the district aggregate plan and shall oversee convergence, implementation and monitoring of the Scheme at the district level in accordance with the provisions of the Act;

(ii) the District Programme Coordinator shall ensure compliance with the provisions of this Scheme and with the directions and guidelines issued by the Central Government and the Government, and shall961 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 accord such administrative sanctions and clearances as may be required for the timely and effective implementation of the Scheme, including those relating to digital, geospatial and monitoring systems;

(iii) Block Development Officers, Programme Officers and Panchayat Secretaries of Gram Panchayat shall report and act as per the direction of District Programme Coordinator and Director Rural Development to carry the objective of the Act and implementation of the Scheme.

(iv) District Programme Coordinator shall review, monitor and supervise their performance using the monitoring framework, management information system and accountability mechanisms established under the Act and the Scheme;

(3) The District Programme Coordinator, shall prepare an aggregate plan for the district under his jurisdiction by consolidating the approved Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans and aggregated Block Plans and the proposals received from the Zila Panchayats.

11. Programme Officer.— Programme officers appointed by the Government under MGNREGA scheme shall continue to be Programme Officers under this scheme shall be designated as Programme Officers at Block level.

(2) The Programme Officer shall assist the Panchayat in discharging its functions under the Act and the Scheme made thereunder.

(3) The Programme Officer shall be responsible for matching the demand for employment with the employment opportunities arising from works in the area under his jurisdiction.

(4) The Programme Officer shall prepare an aggregate plan for the Block under his jurisdiction by consolidating the approved Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans and the proposals received from Panchayats.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions under clause sub-section (2), the functions of the Programme Officer shall include—

(i) monitoring all works and projects undertaken by the Gram Panchayats and other implementing agencies within the Block, ensuring alignment with the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans;

(ii) sanctioning and ensuring payment of unemployment allowance to eligible households in accordance with the provisions of the Act;

(iii) ensuring prompt and fair payment of wages to all labourers employed under the Scheme within the Block, including through digital and biometric authenticated payment systems, as may be specified by the Central Government;

(iv) ensuring that regular social audits of all works within the jurisdiction of each Gram Panchayat are conducted by the Gram Sabha, and that timely and appropriate action is taken on objections and findings arising from such audits;

(v) dealing promptly with all complaints and grievances relating to the implementation of the Scheme within the Block, through the grievance redressal mechanisms established under sub-section (1) of Section 25 of the Act;

(vi) ensuring the geo-tagging, digital recording, and management information system reporting of all works undertaken within the Block, and compliance with monitoring, productivity, and transparency framework, specified by the Central Government under the Act;

(vii) facilitating inter-departmental convergence at the Block level to support saturation-driven planning and the execution of works under the Scheme; and

(viii) any other function as may be assigned to him by the District Programme Co-ordinator and the Government under the Act.

(6) The Programme Officer shall perform his functions under the direction, control and superintendence of the District Programme Coordinator and Block Development Officer for implementation of this Act.

962 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

12. Responsibilities of Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Secretary and Gram Rozgar Sahayak shall be

responsible for.—

a. registration of households and issuance of Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards;

b. receiving work applications and maintaining records of Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards;

c. preparing the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans;

(2) Every Gram Panchayat shall, after considering the recommendations of the Gram Sabha and the Ward Sabhas, keeping in view of the demand for works, prepare a Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan on saturation basis;

(3) Annual plans would be prepared on the basis of the normative allocation.

(4) The Programme Officer shall allocate at least fifty per cent. of the works in terms of its cost under the Scheme to be implemented through the Gram Panchayats:

(5) The Programme Officer shall supply each Gram Panchayat with—

(i) the muster rolls for the works sanctioned to be executed by it;

(ii) a list of employment opportunities available elsewhere to the residents of the Gram Panchayat;

(6) The Gram Panchayat shall allocate employment opportunities among the applicants and ask them to report for work;

(7) The works taken up by a Gram Panchayat under the Scheme, shall meet the required technical standards and measurements;

(8) The Gram Panchayat executing works allotted to it by the Programme Officer; and

(9) The Gram Panchayat may take up any work under the Scheme from Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan within its area, as may be sanctioned by the Programme Officer.

13. Social Audit by Gram Sabha.— The Gram Sabha, shall monitor and review the execution of all works undertaken under the Scheme within the jurisdiction of the Gram Panchayat, in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

CHAPTER VI

Registration and Rozgar Guarantee Card

14. Registration of households.— Household Registration—The adult member of every household residing in any rural area and willing to undertake unskilled manual work, may submit the names, ages and address of the household to the Gram Panchayat within whose jurisdiction they reside, for the purpose of registration of the household and issuance of a Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card.

(1) Special Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card shall be issued where the job seeker is—

(a) a single woman; or

(b) a person with disability; or

(d) a released bonded labourer; or

(e) a person belonging to a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group; or

(f) a transgender person.

(2) The Special Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card of a distinct colour, shall ensure special protection in the providing work, work evaluation, and worksite facilities, as applicable.

15. Issue of Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card.— It shall be the duty of the Gram Panchayat, after making such enquiry, as it deems fit, to issue a Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card within fifteen days from the date of receipt of such application, containing therein a unique Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card number963 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 with details of the registered adult members of the household, their photos, Bank or Post office account number, insurance policy number and the Aadhaar numbers, if any.

(2) The Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card issued, shall be valid for three years, after which it may be renewed after due verification.

(3) No Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card shall be cancelled except on any of the following grounds—

(a) where it is found to be a duplicate;

(b) where the entire household has permanently migrated to a place outside the jurisdiction of the Gram Panchayat and no longer resides in the village; or

(4) The Government shall make arrangements for updating the following details in the Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card regularly while mentioning the key guarantees under the Scheme—

(a) Number of days for which work was demanded;

(b) Number of days of work allocated;

(d) measurement details;

(e) unemployment allowance, if any, paid;

(f) date-wise amount of wages paid;

(g) delay compensation paid if any;

(h) Asset provided, if any.

(5) Every worker shall have an opportunity of being heard and register any grievance either orally or in writing, at all implementation levels for disposal as per the provisions of the Grievance Redressal Mechanism under the Scheme.

16. Issuance of Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card in Case of Dislocation.— Notwithstanding anything contained in Schedule–II, in the event of any national calamity such as flood, cyclone, tsunami and earthquake resulting in mass dislocation of rural population, the adult members of rural households of areas so affected may—

(a) seek for registration and get Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card issued by the Gram Panchayat or Programme Officer of the area of temporary relocation;

(b) submit written or oral applications for work to the Programme Officer or the Gram Panchayat of the area of temporary relocation; and

(2) The details of such Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards shall be intimated to the District Programme Coordinator.

(3) In the event of restoration of normalcy, the Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card so issued shall be re- endorsed at original place of habitation and clubbed with the original Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card on being retrieved.

(4) The number of days of employment provided shall be counted while computing 125 days of guaranteed employment per household.

CHAPTER VII

Demand for Work and Allotment

17. Application for Employment.— (1) Every adult member of a registered household whose name appears in the Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card, shall be entitled to apply for unskilled manual work under964 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 the Scheme; and every such application shall be compulsorily registered, and a receipt issued with the date, which shall be entered in the given digital platform.

(2) The Government shall proactively verify the requirements of the Vulnerable Groups and provide them with work.

(4) Applications may be made individually or jointly for a group together.

(5) There shall be no limit on the number of days of employment for which a person may apply, or on the number of days of employment actually provided to him subject to the aggregate guarantee of the household.

(6) Normally, applications for work must be for at least six days of continuous work.

(7) The same applicant may submit multiple applications provided that the corresponding periods for which employment is sought do not overlap.

18. Allocation of employment.— The Gram Panchayat and Programme Officer shall ensure that every applicant shall be provided unskilled manual work in accordance with the provisions of the Scheme within fifteen days of receipt of an application or the date from which he seeks work in case of advance application, whichever is later.

(2) Priority shall be given to women in such a way that at least one-third of the beneficiaries shall be women who have registered and requested for work. Efforts to increase participation of single women and the person with disabilities shall be made.

(3) Applicants who are provided with work shall be so intimated in writing, by means of a letter sent to him at the address given in the Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card or through any other effective mode of communication or by a public notice displayed at the office of the Panchayats at district, intermediate or village level.

(4) A list of persons who are provided with the work shall be displayed on the notice board of the Gram Panchayat and at the office of the Programme Officer and at such other place as the Programme Officer may deem necessary and the list shall be open for inspection by the Government and any interested person.

(5) As far as possible, the employment shall be provided within a radius of five kilometers of the village where the applicant resides at the time of applying.

(6) A new work under the Scheme can be commenced if at least ten labourers become available for work, provided that this condition shall not be applicable for new works, as determined by the Government, in hilly areas and in respect of afforestation works.

(7) In case the employment is provided outside the radius of five kilometers, the labourers shall be paid ten per cent. of the wage rate as extra wages to meet additional transportation and expenses for living.

(8) A period of employment shall be for at least six days continuously, with not more than six days in a week.

CHAPTER VIII

Muster Rolls, Attendance and Measurement

19. Muster rolls.— The muster rolls for works undertaken under this Scheme shall be maintained through digital systems and shall comply with the following requirements:—

(a) Each muster roll shall be in English and have a unique electronically generated identity number (e-muster) issued through the management information system.

965 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(b) The muster roll shall include the names of all workers who have demanded or been allocated work and shall be authenticated by the authorised functionary of the Gram Panchayat or the Programme Officer.

20. Attendance recording.— Attendance at the worksite shall be recorded daily by an authorised person using biometric attendance systems, and all attendance details shall be made available for public viewing on a daily basis through the designated management information system.

21. Measurement of work.— Payment of wages shall only be made based on measurements taken at the worksite by authorised technical personnel within three days of the closure of the muster roll, and recorded digitally through systems integrated with the designated management information system.

(2) The Government shall ensure the deployment of adequate technical personnel, in this case engineer under MGNREGA, to enable timely measurement and execution of works with delegated technical responsibilities, and shall be paid remuneration as decided by the Government.

CHAPTER IX

Wage Payment and Delay Compensation

22. Wage payment.— Wage rate to be paid to the worker will be decided and notified by the Central Government.

(ii) The disbursement of daily wages shall be made on a weekly basis or in any case not later than a fortnight after the date on which such work was done.

23. Mode of payment.— The payment of wages shall, unless so exempted by the Central Government, be made through the individual savings accounts of the workers in the relevant Banks or Post Offices.

24. Delay compensation.— In case the payment of wages is not made within fifteen days from the date of closure of the muster roll, the wage seekers shall be entitled to receive payment of compensation for the delay, at the rate in accordance with the Act beyond the sixteenth day of closure of muster roll.

(2) Any delay in payment of compensation beyond a period of fifteen days from the date it becomes payable, shall be considered in the same manner as the delay in payment of wages.

(3) For the purpose of ensuring accountability in payment of wages and to calculate culpability of various functionaries or agencies, the Government shall divide the processes leading to determination and payment of wages into various stages such as,—

(a) measurement of work;

(b) computerising the muster rolls;

(d) generation of wage lists; and

(e) Uploading Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs), and specifying stage-wise maximum time limits along with the functionary or agency which is responsible for discharging the specific function.

(4) The computer system shall have a provision to automatically calculate the compensation payable based on the date of closure of the muster roll and the date of deposit of wages in the accounts of the wage seekers.

(5) District Programme Coordinator and Programme Officer shall ensure timely payment of delay compensation after verification within the time limit as provisioned in the Act.

(6) The number of days of delay, the compensation payable and actually paid shall be reflected in the Management Information System.

CHAPTER X

Unemployment Allowance

25. Eligibility.— If an applicant for employment under the Scheme is not provided such employment within fifteen days of receipt of his application seeking employment or from the date on which the966 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 employment has been sought in the case of an advance application, whichever is later, he shall be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance in accordance with the provision of the Act.

(2) No such rate shall be less than one-fourth of the notified wage rate for the first thirty days during the financial year and not less than one-half of the wage rate for the remaining period of the financial year.

26. Procedure.— Procedure shall be notified by Government in consultation with State Council.

CHAPTER XI

Categories of works and eligibility criteria for individual beneficiary work

27. Works and Categories under the Scheme.— (1) Focus of the Scheme—Classification of Works: The Scheme shall focus on the following categories of works, as identified in the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans and aggregated into the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack.

(2) The works to be taken up under the Scheme, shall fall under the following Categories, together with their thematic focus and intended outcomes, namely:—

A. Category I—Water-Related Works (for Water Security)—

(a) The focus shall include conservation, irrigation, groundwater recharge, source sustainability, rejuvenation of water bodies, watershed development and afforestation and the Illustrative works include—

(i) construction of canals, flood or diversion channels, check dams, gully plugs and underground dykes;

(ii) construction or rejuvenation of ponds, percolation tanks, recharge pits, recharge shafts, injection wells and associated water harvesting structures;

(iii) irrigation open wells, micro-irrigation channels and field water distribution systems;

(iv) reclamation of community waterlogged land;

(v) afforestation and plantation works linked with soil and moisture conservation; and (vi) rooftop rainwater harvesting and other decentralized recharge systems.

(b) Intended Outcomes—strengthening of water security through integrated water resource management, recharge and conservation for long-term climate resilience.

B. Category II—Core Rural Infrastructure.—

(a) Thematic focus shall include core civic, social, governance and service-delivery infrastructure relating to education, health, drinking water, sanitation, connectivity, renewable energy and community services and the Illustrative works include—

(i) construction or upgradation of rural roads, culverts, cross-drainage structures and village connectivity facilities;

(ii) construction of Gram Panchayat Bhawans, Anganwadi centres, rural libraries and other public buildings;

(iii) construction of school infrastructure, including kitchen sheds, additional classrooms, laboratories, compound walls and playgrounds;

(iv) crematoria and community infrastructure;

(v) solid and liquid waste management assets, including stabilising ponds, community sanitary complexes, and waste segregation and collection centres;

(vi) installation of solar lighting systems and other renewable rural energy infrastructure;

(vii) village parking areas, transport sheds and other common rural amenities;

(viii) rural housing works permissible under the schemes of the Central Government, including those permitted under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana—Gramin; and967 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 (ix) repair and maintenance of works created under the Jal Jeevan Mission for ensuring water supply.

(b) Intended Outcome—Creation of foundational civic and social infrastructure ensuring basic amenities, improved service access and enhanced quality of life in rural areas.

C. Category III—Livelihood-related Infrastructure—

(a) Thematic focus shall include productive assets and facilities that enhance rural livelihoods through agriculture, livestock, fisheries, value addition, skilling and enterprise development and the Illustrative works include—

(i) construction of training-cum-skill development centres and work sheds for livelihood activities;

(ii) rural haats or weekly markets and other market infrastructure;

(iii) food grain storage buildings, agricultural produce storage structures, cold storage units and other agri-value chain infrastructure;

(iv) buildings for Self Help Groups and federation-level institutions;

(v) compost structures, including vermicompost and NADEP units;

(vi) development of silvipasture grasslands, dairy infrastructure and shelters for cattle, goats, pigs, poultry and other livestock;

(vii) fisheries-related infrastructure, including fish drying yards;

(viii) raising of nurseries and production of building material; and

(ix) Integrated projects promoting circular and cyclical economy models, as may be approved by the Central Government.

(b) Intended Outcome—Strengthening of sustainable livelihoods, value addition, enterprise development and self-reliant rural economies.

D. Category IV—Special works to mitigate Extreme Weather Events and Disaster Preparedness—

(a) Thematic focus shall include disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and protection of rural communities and assets from floods, cyclones, storms, droughts, landslides, forest fires and other extreme weather events and the Illustrative works include—

(i) construction of cyclone shelters, flood shelters and multipurpose disaster resilient structures;

(ii) construction of diversion channels, embankments and other disaster-mitigation works;

(iii) stabilising ponds and water structures for flood management;

(iv) post-disaster rehabilitation, restoration and repair of rural roads and community assets;

(v) windbreak and shelterbelt plantations; and

(vi) forest fire management works, including fire breaks, fuel buffer zones and allied measures.

(b) Intended Outcome— Creation of climate-resilient villages capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions.

(3) Any other public work which may be notified by the Central Government.

(4) Maintenance of rural public assets created under the Act.

(5) Works for individual beneficiaries, including but not limited to housing-related works under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana—Gramin, sanitation-related works, and other beneficiary-oriented developmental works undertaken under various schemes of the Central Government from time to time and expressly notified for inclusion under the Scheme, may also be taken up. The eligibility of such968 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 beneficiaries shall be as notified by the Central Government, aligned with the eligibility criteria specified under the respective Central Government schemes, with all such works conforming to the norms, standards and guidelines issued by the Central Government.

28. Eligibility Criteria of the Beneficiary for Individual Beneficiary Work.— Without prejudice to the generality of the above, works creating individual assets as notified by the Central Government shall be prioritised on land or homestead owned by households belonging to:—

(a) the Scheduled Castes;

(b) the Scheduled Tribes;

(d) denotified tribes;

(e) economically weaker sections of the society as identified based on criteria notified by the Central Government;

(f) women-headed households;

(g) households headed by persons with disabilities;

(h) beneficiaries of land reforms;

(i) beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana—Gramin (PMAY-G); and

(j) beneficiaries under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (2 of 2007), and after exhausting the eligible beneficiaries under the above categories, works may be taken up on the lands of small or marginal farmers as identified on the basis of criteria notified by the Central Government, subject to such Household Registration—The adult member of every household residing in any rural area and willing to undertake unskilled manual work, may submit the names, ages and address of the household to the Gram Panchayat within whose jurisdiction they reside, for the purpose of registration of the household and issuance of a Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card conditions as may be notified by the Central Government, including the requirement that such households possess a valid job card and have at least one adult member willing to work on the project undertaken on their land or homestead.

CHAPTER XII

Worksite Management and Safety

29. Facilities at worksites.— For the purpose of transparency at the worksite, the following shall be ensured—

(a) there shall be a project initiation meeting in which various provisions of the work shall be explained to the workers;

(b) a copy of the sanction work order shall be available for public inspection at the worksite;

(d) a Citizens' Information Board shall be put up at every worksite and Updated regularly in the manner specified by the Central Government;

(e) The Vigilance and Monitoring Committee set up according to the instructions of the Central Government may check all works and its evaluation report will be recorded in the Works Register in the format specified by the Central Government and submitted to the Gram Sabha during the Social Audit.

(2) The facilities of safe drinking water, shade for children and periods of rest, first aid box with adequate material for emergency treatment for minor injuries and other health hazards connected with the work being performed shall be provided at the worksite.

969 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(3) In case the number of children below the age of five years accompanying the women working at any site is five or more, provisions shall be made to depute one of such women workers to look after such children. The person so deputed shall be paid wage rate.

30. Safety and accidents.— If any personal injury is caused to any person employed under the Scheme by any accident arising out of and in the course of his employment, he shall be entitled to such medical treatment as required, free of cost.

CHAPTER XIII

Restriction on undertaking works during Peak Agricultural Seasons

31. Notification of Peak Agricultural Seasons.— The Government shall, in advance of each financial year, notify a period or periods aggregating to sixty days in a financial year, covering the peak agricultural seasons of sowing and harvesting, during which no works under the Scheme shall be undertaken.

32. Area-Specific Notifications.— The Government may issue distinct notifications for different areas of the State, including districts, blocks or Gram Panchayats, having regard to—

(a) agro-climatic zones;

(b) local patterns of agricultural activities; and

(2) Every notification issued under this provision shall have binding effect for the purposes of the Act and the Scheme.

33. Prohibition on Works during Notified Periods.— All authorities responsible for planning, sanctioning or executing works under the Scheme shall ensure that no work is undertaken during the periods notified as peak agricultural seasons.

34. Scheduling of Works.— The Programme Officer and other implementing authorities shall, while approving the aggregated Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans and scheduling works, ensure that all works are taken up only outside the notified peak agricultural seasons.

(2) Where hospitalisation of the injured worker is necessary, the Government shall arrange for such hospitalisation including accommodation, treatment, medicines and payment of daily allowance which is not less than half of the wage rate.

(3) If a person employed under the Scheme meets with death or becomes permanently disabled by accident arising out of and in the course of employment, he or his legal heirs, as the case may be, shall be paid by the implementing agency an ex gratia as per entitlement under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana or as may be notified by the Central Government.

(4) If any personal injury is caused by accident to a child accompanying a person who is employed under the Scheme, such person shall be entitled to medical treatment free of cost; and in case of death or disablement of the child due to the said accident, ex gratia shall be paid to the legal guardians as determined by the Government.

CHAPTER XIV

Estimate, Sanctioning and Work Execution

35. Estimates.— (1) Technical Estimates and Standards for Works—Every work under this Scheme shall have a technical estimate and design sanctioned by Engineer, based on the framework aligned appointment by the Government of Goa under MGNREGA with the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack.

(2) For works involving construction, appropriate labour-intensive technologies, depending upon the availability of labour and the use of local materials, shall be employed to the extent feasible.

(3) Bills of quantities shall use clear and commonly understood terminology to ensure transparency for all stakeholders.

970 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(4) Each work shall have a summary of the estimate, design and a technical note indicating the expected outputs and outcomes.

(5) All technical estimates, designs and outcome notes shall be generated or uploaded through digital systems integrated with the designated management information system.

36. Administrative and Financial Sanctions.— Works finalised at the Gram Panchayat level through the approved Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan and aggregated at the Block and District levels shall be accorded administrative or financial sanction by the competent authority as per the requirements and within thirty days.

37. Wage Linkage to Output and Schedule of Rates.— The State Government shall ensure that wages without any gender bias are linked to the quantum of work completed, in accordance with the Rural Schedule of Rates notified on the basis of time-and-motion studies for different types of work and different seasons and revised periodically.

38. Special Schedule of Rates for Vulnerable Groups.— A separate Schedule of Rates shall be finalised for women, the elderly, persons with disabilities and persons with debilitating ailments to facilitate their productive participation in suitable categories of work.

39. Working Hours and Earning Norms.— (1) The Schedule of Rates shall be framed so that an adult person working for eight hours, inclusive of one hour of rest, can earn an amount equivalent to the notified wage rate.

(2) Working hours of an adult worker may be flexible but shall not extend beyond twelve hours in a day, including intervals for rest.

40. Inspection and Quality Control.— The Block Development Officers shall of Goa ensure regular inspection and supervision of works by designated quality-control teams to verify adherence to quality standards, accuracy of measurements and conformity of wage payments to the actual quantum of work executed. Inspection reports shall be uploaded to the management information system.

41. Completion of Ongoing Works.— At the time of opening new works, it shall be ensured that ongoing or incomplete works are prioritised for completion, subject to planning norms and the approved Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans.

42. Execution Without Contractors.— No contractor shall be engaged for the execution of any work or component financed through expenditure under this Act. All such works shall be executed directly by the implementing agencies in accordance with the processes laid down under the Scheme, including mandatory proactive disclosures and the social audit process.

(2) In cases of convergence where components of a work are financed under other schemes, the execution of those components may follow the norms of the converging scheme, including the use of contractors where permitted.

(3) As far as practicable, works executed by the programme implementation agencies shall be performed by using manual labour and no labour displacing machines shall be used.

43. Transparent Procurement of Materials.— All materials required for the execution of works shall be procured by the Gram Panchayat or the implementing agency through transparent procurement systems, including e-tendering processes, as specified by the Government.

CHAPTER XV

Funding Pattern and Financial Arrangements

44. Funding Pattern.— Centrally Sponsored Scheme: The Scheme shall be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme by Cost Sharing between the Central Government and the Government of Goa. The funding pattern under the Scheme shall 60:40 between the Central Government and the Government of Goa.

45. Financial Arrangements.— State-wise Normative Allocation: The Central Government shall determine, for every financial year, a State-wise normative allocation for implementation of the Scheme, based on such objective parameters as may be communicated from time to time.

971 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(2) Expenditure Beyond Normative Allocation: Any expenditure incurred by the Government of Goa over and above the State-wise normative allocation shall be borne by the Government of Goa.

(3) Central Share: The share of the Central Government, within the approved allocation, shall include expenditure towards:—

(i) payment of wages for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled labour engaged under the Scheme;

(ii) the material component of works, subject to the provisions contained in Schedule-I; and (iii) such administrative expenses as may be specified by the Central Government, including—

(a) salary and allowances of Programme Officers and supporting staff,

(b) administrative expenses of the Central Council,

(d) such other items.

(4) State Share: The share of the Government of Goa, within the approved allocation, shall include expenditure towards—

(a) payment of wages for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled labour engaged under the Scheme;

(b) the material component of works, subject to Schedule-I; and

(a) salary and allowances of Programme Officers and supporting staff,

(b) administrative expenses of the State Council,

(d) such other items.

(5) Unemployment Allowance and Delay Compensation: The Government shall bear the expenditure towards unemployment allowance and delay compensation payable under the Scheme, as per the provisions notified/issued by the Government.

(6) Intra-State distribution of normative Allocation: The Government shall, upon receipt of the approved normative allocation from the Central Government, ensure equitable, need-based and transparent intra-State distribution of the allocation across districts and Gram Panchayats, taking into consideration the categorisation of Gram Panchayats and the assessed local needs for determining Gram Panchayat-wise allocations and corresponding district allocations; and the detailed methodology, parameters and procedural requirements for such distribution shall be notified by the Central Government.

(7) Out of the administrative costs allowed under the Scheme, at least one-third shall be utilised at the Gram Panchayat level to employ and pay the Gram Rozgar Sahayak, other technical personnel as per the work done and for other administrative expenses.

(8) The administrative expenses related to implementation of the Scheme shall be borned by the Government, not specified or prescribed by the Central Government.

CHAPTER XVI

Transparency and Public Disclosure

46. Proactive disclosure.— Mandatory Public disclosure shall be undertaken through digital systems integrated with the designated management information system and displayed at the village level for public scrutiny.

(2) Display at every worksite a "Janata Board" indicating details of the work.

(3) Public disclosure of all information relating to works, labour demand, employment provided, payments, material utilisation and physical progress under this Scheme shall be carried out through digital systems integrated with the designated portal. Weekly disclosures shall be automatically generated and972 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026 displayed in a publicly accessible physical and digital formats. In addition, the Gram Panchayat shall convene weekly disclosure meetings in the Gram Panchayat Bhawan to present the status of works, payments, grievances and other relevant information before the community.

(4) Block Development Officer and Programme Officer shall ensure that their official websites are regularly updated in compliance with Clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (22 of 2005), with all information on the Act available in free, downloadable electronic form.

CHAPTER XVII

Social Audit

47. Conduct of Social Audit.— All works, expenditures and guarantees under this Scheme shall be subject to social audit at least once every six months.

(2) The procedure, standards and modalities for conducting social audits shall be as per the rules notified by the Central Government.

(3) Until such rules are notified, the provisions of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Audit of Schemes Rules, 2011 shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to the conduct of social audits under the Act.

48. Compliance with findings.— Findings of the social audit shall be placed in the Gram Sabha.

(2) Corrective and recovery actions shall be initiated without delay.

(3) Action-taken reports shall be recorded in the MIS.

(4) Any misappropriation of amounts spent under the Scheme shall be recoverable under the relevant revenue laws for recovery prevailing in the State.

(5) The portion of such recoveries pertaining to the Central share shall be remitted to the Consolidated Fund of India through the mechanism established by the Central Government.

49. Annual Reporting.— The District Programme Coordinator, the Programme Officer and each Gram Panchayat shall prepare an annual report detailing facts, figures and achievements relating to the implementation of the Scheme within their jurisdiction. A copy of such report shall be made available to the public in physical or electronic form, on payment of such fee or charges as may be specified.

CHAPTER XVIII

Grievance Redressal and Ombudsperson

50. Grievance Redressal Mechanism.— An effective grievance redressal mechanism shall be established under the Scheme, comprising the following components, namely:—

(1) Institutional mechanisms for receiving grievances at the Ward, Gram Panchayat, Block and District levels, with at least one designated day each week when officials shall be mandatorily available to receive grievances;

(2) Every worker shall have an opportunity of being heard and register any grievance either orally or in writing, at all implementation levels for disposal as per the provisions of the Grievance Redressal Mechanism under the Scheme.

(3) Issuance of a dated acknowledgement for all grievances submitted in writing, telephonically, online, or orally to any authorised functionary;

(4) Enquiry through spot verification or inspection and disposal shall be completed within seven working days of receipt of the grievance;

(5) Upon completion of the enquiry, the concerned authority shall initiate immediate corrective action, and the grievance shall be resolved within fifteen days;

(6) Failure to dispose of a grievance within seven working days at the level determined, shall be treated as a contravention of the provisions of the Act;

973 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(7) Where prima facie evidence of financial irregularity is revealed during preliminary enquiry or through findings of the social audit report, the District Programme Coordinator shall, after obtaining legal advice, ensure that a First Information Report is lodged and necessary proceedings initiated;

(8) The concerned authority shall inform the complainant in writing, physically or digitally, of the conclusions of the enquiry and the steps taken for redressal;

(9) Action taken on grievances received by all implementing agencies shall be placed before the meetings of the Intermediate Panchayat and the District Panchayat for review and monitoring;

(10) Appeals against the orders of the Gram Panchayat shall lie before the Block Development Officer; appeals against the orders of the Block Development Officer shall lie before the District Programme Co-ordinator; appeals against the orders of the District Programme Co-ordinator shall lie before the State Grievance Redressal Authority or any officer designated by the State Government;

(11) All appeals shall be filed within forty-five days from the date of the order;

(12) All appeals shall be disposed of within thirty days from the date of receipt;

(13) Any grievance not resolved within fifteen days at the Ward, Gram Panchayat, Block or District level shall be automatically escalated to the next higher level through digital systems integrated with the designated management information system, and such escalations shall be continuously monitored electronically.

51. Record maintenance and grievance redressal system.— The Gram Panchayat shall prepare and maintain or cause to be prepared and maintained such registers, vouchers and other documents in such form and in such manner as may be specified in the Scheme containing particulars of Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards and pass books issued, name, age and address of the head of the household and the adult members of the households registered with the Gram Panchayat.

52. Ombudsperson.— The Government shall appoint an Ombudsperson for each District to receive grievances, conduct enquiries and issue awards in accordance with the guidelines notified by the Central Government and the Government of Goa. The Ombudsperson shall operate through digital platforms integrated with the designated digital portal under this Act.

CHAPTER XIX

Monitoring, Inspection and Evaluation

53. Monitoring.— The Government shall monitor implementation at State, District and Block levels.

(2) Dashboards and analytical reports shall be maintained in the MIS.

54. Evaluation.— Independent evaluations shall be undertaken periodically to assess outcomes and impact.

(2) For ensuring measurable outcomes and real-time accountability, technology-enabled monitoring shall be mandated for tracking work execution and post-completion asset outcomes, supported by verified data systems and spatial technologies. Weekly public disclosures shall be reinforced through a comprehensive transparency framework. A Concurrent Evaluation Mechanism as specified by the Central Government, shall provide continuous vigilance and enable timely corrective action.

CHAPTER XX

Training and Capacity Building

55. Training and Capacity Building.— (1) The Government shall prepare and implement a dedicated plan for capacity building and strengthening of Panchayati Raj Institutions for effective planning, execution, supervision and monitoring of the Scheme.

(2) The capacity-building plan shall, inter alia, include activities relating to:

(a) training of elected representatives and functionaries of Panchayati Raj Institutions on roles and responsibilities under the Scheme;

974 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(b) Information, Education and Communication (IEC) initiatives to enhance awareness regarding the provisions of the Scheme, transparency mechanisms and community participation;

(c) digital literacy and orientation on the use of Management Information Systems, geo-tagging tools and other digital platforms;

(d) Strengthening institutional systems in Panchayati Raj Institutions for record keeping, financial management, grievance redressal, social audit and asset maintenance.

(3) The plan shall be prepared annually, based on field requirements, and shall be integrated with the State Training and Capacity Building framework under the Scheme.

(4) Panchayati Raj Institutions shall extend full cooperation in organising such capacity-building initiatives and shall ensure participation of elected representatives and functionaries.

(5) Expenditure on activities undertaken under this provision shall be met from permissible administrative and capacity-building heads, as may be specified by the Central Government and the Government of Goa.

CHAPTER XXI

Closing Formula

56. Power to remove difficulties.— The scheme shall be read harmoniously with the provisions of the Act. In the event of any inconsistency, the provisions of the Act shall prevail.

(2) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Scheme, the Government may by order published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of the Act as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removing of the difficulty.

By order and in the name of the Governor of Goa.

Sd/- Director, Rural Development and ex officio. Jt. Secretary.

Panaji.

———♦♦♦———

Directorate of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

Notification

DSDE/PROJECT/Counselling/2022-23/1032 Date : 22-Jul-2026

The following amendment of Scheme is approved by the Government of Goa and has to be published for the General Information of Public and shall come into force from date of publication in the Official Gazette.

"Scheme for providing Counseling to the trainees in all Government Industrial Training Institutes

(ITl's) under Directorate of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship"

1. Introduction.— Lack of counseling to trainees of Government ITIs has become a reason for many young trainees to become victim to disrupt their career and personal lives. Youth remains in nervous state of mind, confused mind, depression, mental stress due to hectic lifestyles, tough deadlines, multitasking, rat race, cut-throat competition which makes the youth unstable. They even lack confidence to face the life and make proper career.

The diverse socio-economic and cultural levels of the trainees and the increased expectations from parents for achieving higher academic grading plays havoc with the young minds more so with the vulnerable sections of the society thereby falling prey to addictions of alcohol, tobacco and at times gambling. The fear of failure also makes the mind lose self-confidence and leads to psychological imbalances and leading to incidents of committing suicides-amongst the susceptible youth.

975 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

This Department is having 10 Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) all over the State which impart training in Engineering and Non-engineering trades for approximately 5000 trainees in a year. Most of these trainees are coming from weaker section of society having socio-economic challenges. The Government of Goa therefore with thoughtful concern endeavors to take due care and as an immediate response desires to engage expert counselors in ITIs to help the young trainee/cope up with the emotional and psychological stress.

2. Short title and commencement.— (I) This scheme shall be called "The Scheme for providing Counseling to the trainees of Government Industrial Training Institutes (ITI's) at Directorate of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship"

(II) This scheme will be implemented through Directorate of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to provide counseling to the required trainees from the eligible Counselors (10 Nos.), Supervisor (1 No.) and Data Entry Operator (1 No.) will be provided by the Government.

3. Objectives.— The objective of the scheme is to spot the trainees of ITIs undergoing mental, physical related stress and provide solace, safe vent to release their stress, anguish, grievances, guilt or feeling of unrest/complain of neglect, confidential space through specialized Counselors in a supportive and purposeful manner and assist the distressed student to think more clearly and positively and develop the skills to find their way forward.

The main objective of this scheme is to provide youth friendly counseling services in Government ITIs, to be delivered by appointed Counselors.

3.1 The specific objectives of this scheme are:

i. To recruit Counselors with specific skills as per qualification criteria mentioned in Clause 5.

ii. To recruit Supervisor to provide supervision to the Counselors.

iii. To recruit Data Entry Operator who will computerize the counseling reports and prepare MIS reports and other works related to counseling.

iv. To implement a model of continuing supervision and support of the trained ITI Counselors in the ITIs through supervision and mentoring of Supervisors.

4. Scope.— The scheme shall cover the trainees studying in Government ITIs under Directorate of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (DSDE) in the State of Goa.

The Counselors shall discuss and assist the trainees in various arrays of concerns and provide guidance with regards to the issues related to:

i. Stress Management.

ii. Adjusting to ITI environment.

iii. Life transition and changes.

iv. Difficulties in family relationship.

v. Depression.

vi. Anxiety, Anger.

vii. Physical, Sexual, Emotional abuse.

viii. Thoughts of suicide.

ix. Trauma.

x. Other feelings that cause discomfort.

5. Eligibility Criteria.—

A. Counselor Profile:

Nature of Employment:— Contract basis for 12 months.

976 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

Essential:— (1) Regular Masters degree in Clinical/Counseling Psychology OR MSW (Masters in Social Work) with specialization in Medical and Psychiatric.

Regular Graduation in Psychology (6 units), Social Work, Home Science (HR) from UGC recognized College and Diploma in Guidance and Counseling from recognized Institution.

(2) Minimum 1 year experience in Counseling.

(3) Knowledge of Konkani.

(4) 15 years residence certificate.

Desirable:— (1) Knowledge of Marathi.

Age Limit:— 45

B. Supervisor Profile:

Nature of Employment:— Contract basis for 12 months.

Essential:— (1) Regular Masters Degree in Clinical/Counseling Psychology or MSW (Masters in Social Work) with specialization in Medical and Psychiatric.

(2) Minimum 5 years experience in Counseling.

(3) Experience of conducting training and workshops.

(4) 15 years residence certificate.

(5) Knowledge of Konkani.

Desirable:— (1) Knowledge of Marathi.

(2) M. Phil/Ph. D. in Psychology.

Age Limit:— 45.

C. Data Entry Operator Profile:

Nature of Employment:— Contract basis for 12 months.

Essential:— (1) HSSCE passed from recognized Institution.

(2) Certificate having completed course in Computer for a minimum period of 3 months from recognized Institute.

(3) 15 years residence certificate.

(4) Knowledge of Konkani.

Desirable:— (1) Knowledge of Marathi.

Age Limit:— 45.

6. Appointment Pattern.— The appointment of Counselors, Supervisor and Data Entry Operator will be on contract basis for a period of 12 months. The Department shall constitute a Committee for the purpose for selection of Counselors, Supervisor and Data Entry Operator. The Committee shall conduct walkin interviews. DSDE may renew the contract strictly based on the performance of the Counselor/ /Supervisor/Data Entry Operators which will be assessed by this committee.

7. Funding Pattern.— The Directorate of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship will pay the remuneration of the Counselors, Supervisor and Data Entry Operator from the funds provided by State Government or by Government of India through any Centrally Sponsored Schemes, to the tune of Rs. 28,000/-, Rs. 35,000/- and Rs. 20,000/ respectively.

8. Monitoring & Evaluation.—

8.1 Plan for Integrating the Initiative within the ITI System.

977 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

The ITI is a system where the focus is on holistic development of a trainee instead of focusing only on academic outcomes. To integrate this initiative within the ITI system, it is proposed to plan to optimize existing resources in the following ways:

(i) Structural: The Directorate of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship will serve as the main office for the Counselor. These ITIs will provide ideal conditions for achieving the purpose of counseling as they are specifically equipped to cater to this need.

(ii) Human Resources: The Counselor is a important human resource within the ITI set up to cater to the needs of emotional well being of students. Through training and supervision, the Counselors capacities will be enhanced to provide efficient and effective counseling for the trainees.

(iii) Stakeholders: This program will simultaneously work with consultation with the various stake holders such as Vocational Instructors, Trainees, parents & ITI staff etc. to generate awareness about the program.

(iv) Secondary Referral centers: The Counselors will work with the Principals of ITIs and Officers of DSDE to network with secondary referral centers for counseling within the region. These secondary referral centers will need to be recognized by the DSDE. This will lead to the sustainability of this programme.

9. Relaxation.— (a) The Government shall be empowered to relax any or all clauses or conditions of the scheme in genuine cases for which the reasons shall recorded in writing.

(b) If any question arises regarding interpretation of any clause, word, expression, the decision about the interpretation shall lie with the Government which shall be final and binding on all concerned.

By order and in the name of the Governor of Goa.

Vinayak M. Kambli, Director (Skill Development & Entrepreneurship).

Panaji.

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Department of Tribal Welfare

Directorate of Tribal Welfare

Notification

1-285-2026-27/GSSTFDCL-OTS Scheme/ADMN/DTW/2302 Date : 28-Jul-2026

1. Introduction/Background.— The Goa State Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation Ltd. have been implementing the Ashraya Adhar Scheme for repair/renovation/reconstruction of houses, since the year 2005. The Scheme has been successful in meeting its objectives to improve the social condition of the ST community in the State of Goa. Out of all the loan sanctioned by the Corporation some loanee have not repaid their loan citing various reasons like financial inability, loss of job during covid, death, sickness, etc. and their loan term has also expired.

The objective of this scheme is to provide financial support only to the stressed borrowers, Guarantors or their legal heirs in the form of waiver on outstanding interest of the loan sanctioned under 'Ashraya Adhar Scheme' for repair, renovation and reconstruction of the house.

2. Short title of the scheme and commencement.— (a) This scheme shall be called as "One Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme for Interest Waiver under Ashraya Adhar Scheme" and shall be operated by the Goa State Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation Ltd., Panaji.

(b) This scheme shall be effective for period of three months from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

3. Definitions.— (a) The Government– means the Government of Goa.

978 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 18 30TH JULY, 2026

(b) Corporation– means the Goa State Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation Ltd., Panaji.

(c) Family– means husband, wife, and unmarried children. The father, mother and unmarried brothers and sisters fully dependent and staying with the applicant shall also form part of the "family".

(d) OTS amount– means total outstanding amount in the loan account minus the outstanding interest.

4. Benefit under the Scheme.— Under this Scheme full outstanding interest waiver will be provided to the beneficiaries of the Ashraya Adhar Scheme whose loan term has expired, and OTS amount is paid to the Corporation within 3 months of publication of the scheme.

Further, it is provided that the Board of Directors of the Goa State Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation Limited can grant additional time of 2 months to the deserving eligible beneficiaries under this scheme to pay the OTS amount.

5. Eligibility Criteria.— (a) the loan must be sanctioned under Ashraya Adhar Scheme.

(b) the loan term has expired, and the amount is outstanding as on date of commencement of the Scheme in the loan account.

6. Procedure.— (a) The corporation shall intimate the eligible beneficiaries to avail the benefit under this "One Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme for Interest Waiver under Ashraya Adhar Scheme" vide a written notice clearly specifying the OTS amount and timelines.

(b) The eligible beneficiaries shall pay the OTS amount within 3 months of publication of the scheme.

(c) The Corporation shall issue no dues certificate to the eligible beneficiary loanees for cases settled under this scheme.

7. Removal of Difficulties.— The Board of Directors of Goa State Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation Limited shall be empowered to remove any difficulties arising out of implementation of the scheme.

8. Interpretation.— Regarding any doubt, same will be referred to the Secretary, Tribal Welfare and decision of the Secretary shall be final.

9. Other Conditions.— If any information or documents furnished/submitted by the applicant to avail the benefits under the scheme is found to be incorrect/fraud, the person will be liable for criminal breach of trust under the provision of BNS in force.

This has been issued with the concurrence of Finance (Expenditure) Department obtained vide their U.O. No. 1400125537 dated 16/05/2026 and approved at Agenda Item No. 14 in the One Hundred and Seventy (CVIIth) Cabinet Meeting of the Council of Ministers held on 22/07/2026.

By order and in the name of the Governor of Goa.

Nilesh Dhaigodkar, Director & ex officio Joint Secretary.

Panaji.

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