PERNEM: The Tiracol tenants, who had assumed that the ball of Golf Course Project will land in their court, were in for a rude shock when the Deputy Collector of Dharbandora, Agnelo Fernandes, concluded that the Tiracol land is non-tenanted.
Fernandes was appointed by the High Court of Bombay at Goa to probe whether the land acquired by Leading Hotels Ltd for setting the golf course project in village Tiracol is tenanted or not. The St Anthony Tenants and Mundkars’ Association, which was battling to prove that the agricultural land is tenanted and cannot be sold, gifted, sublet or used for no-agricultural purpose, was shocked when the Deputy Collector at a hearing on Monday concluded that the Tiracol land is non-agricultural.
Speaking to Herald, Francis Rodrigues, President of St Anthony Tenants & Mundkars Association alleged that the Deputy Collector of Dharbandora has taken a wrong decision by saying that the Tiracol land is non-tenanted. “This is an injustice to the tenants of not only Tiracol but all over Goa. The government officials such as the Deputy Collector and the government itself is in “hand-in-glove” with the Leading Hotels because even after having all the documents on record proving that agricultural land at Tiracol is tenanted, the Deputy Collector concluded that it’s non-tenanted,” Rodrigues alleged.
He said, “All the documents from Form 1 and 14, classification of land to all the necessary orders are in order, but the Deputy Collector as taken this decision of calling the land as non tenanted just because the tenants don’t have cultivation receipts from the landlord.”
Rodrigues claimed that the Deputy Collector has no knowledge that in the Tenancy Act is it also mentioned that tenants use to carry out agricultural activities on basis of oral understanding with the landlord and were not getting proper receipts of the same.
Rodrigues said, “The 1964 Tenancy Act was formed to protect the tenants and Form 1 and 14 presumes the document of ownership by tenants. They also claimed that the tenants of Tiracol have also attached their Form 1 and 14 and other related documents under the different Tenancy Acts but even after that such decision by the Deputy Collector is not feasible.
The document is basically a property registration document, which states that the Tiracol land is tenanted agriculture from year 1813, was also bought under record. According to this document, the land owned by the State and landlord is to pay an annual amount of 828 xerafines. This document also states that Tiracol land is an agricultural land comprising of different plantations. According these documents, the land is an agricultural one and further the same cannot be sold, gifted, sublet or used for non-agricultural purpose.
Tenants also claimed that Deputy Collector has not followed the Tenancy Act properly before taking such an “invalid” decision. The earlier report, which says that only parts of Tiracol are tenanted, is also a “major fraud” which was done by the Leading Hotels by taking the MoU signed from a few families, stating that it’s an erroneous entry and their ancestors had never cultivated the land.
Rodrigues said they are not happy with the decision of the Deputy Collector and they are further going to re-appeal in the court. We have an option of provisional challenge wherein if either party is not happy with the decision then they can re-appeal in the court.
He has appealed to tenants and mundkars to come out and protest to get justice. Tenants should unite at this critical time otherwise tenants all over the Goa will be wiped out by builder lobby and the government, he said.
Condemning the report Tenants and Mundkars’ Association of Pernem president Danial D’Souza claimed it is a false report. The previous reports had stated that the Tiracol land is tenanted land and is agriculture and cultivated. Also, the documents submitted by Claude Alvares of Goa Foundation clarified that Tiracol is tenanted land where tenants reside and carry out agricultural activities.
