Panaji: A day after Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee ruled out special status to Goa, Congress MP Shantaram Naik Tuesday clarified that the state wanted an ammendment to Article 371 and not any special status as perceived.

“Goa has demanded amendment to article 371 of the Constitution of India so that the land resources in the state can be preserved. The demand is to classify state under a special category by amending the article,” he said.

“This special category is required so that the foreigners do not monopolise our villages by buying land here,” the MP said.

  “But media did not ask a question on this aspect or rather media had in mind this very issue but the finance minister took it as a demand to include Goa in a special category like the North-Eastern states,” Naik clarified.

Mukherjee yesterday said the National Development Council (NDC) had decided not to give special status to any more states in the country.

Naik further said that Goa’s key demand was for amending Article 371 so as to empower the state legislative Assembly to enact a legislation to bring in restrictions on transfer of land and other immovable properties.

 “Land is becoming scarce commodity more particularly in smaller states. Land mafias from foreign countries are landing in the states like Goa with tons of money buying huge areas creating social and economic chaos,” he said, adding “some of the interested parties have a potential to buy an entire village in a smaller state like Goa”.

The issue of special status has been raised by NGOs and political parties in the coastal state who are finding that the land prices are escalating due to uncontrolled purchases by real estate lobbies from outside Goa.