The government’s recent amendment to the original Goa Agricultural Tenancy Act 1964 has caused a panic among tenants.
Two amendments, one in 2014 and the recent one this year, have made tenants lose their cases in the court. With the first amendment in 2014, around 250 tenants lost their cases and now with the recent amendment, the tenants fear they will never win cases in the District Court, where documentary evidence is a must factor which they have not been able to provide, say sources.
“Our association has made six demands with the government which include scrapping of the 2014 and 2017 amendments and implementation of the original Act of 1964,” said Ramkrishna Zalmi, of Goychea Kul Mundkarancho Awaj (Voice of Tenants Mundkar Association) (GKMA).
“We have demanded special surveys of tenants, deciding rates and handing over sanads to tenants without court orders since the Mamlatdars are the authorities to decide the cases, according to the original Act of 1964,” he added.
While the government claims that the two amendments were enacted in the interests of the tenants, those opposing say that it is a conspiracy to delay and deny the tenants of their land rights. A number of meetings have been convened in various parts of Ponda and Goa to create awareness that the amendment could be a backdoor entry for the landlords to grab the land which the tenants are tilling and are deemed as tenants of the land according to the original Tenancy Act of 1964.
According to sources, a fresh agitation will be launched asking the government to implement the original Act.
According to Zalmi, around 250 tenants have lost cases because they failed to submit a documentary evidence which is a must in the Civil Court.
The recent amendment has caused panic among the rest of the tenants who are fighting their cases in the Mamlatdar Court. The tenants are afraid because the Civil courts are compulsorily asking for documents which they do not possess. In the Mamlatdar courts the witnesses and affidavits suffice but documentary evidence is required in Civil and District courts. The GKMA says that the government seems to have conveniently forgotten that the intention of the original Goa Agricultural Tenancy Act 1964 was to provide tillers who were actually cultivating the land for their survival. Zalmi has demanded that the two amendments be withdrawn and more mamlatdars be appointed to solve the tenancy cases.
Adv. Satywan Palkar, legal Advisor of Association, said: “If a survey of the tenant is not conducted before implementing any provision of tenancy act 99 per cent of tenants’ cases will fail and hence because tenancy act is beneficial legislation, government should give benefit of Act in favour of tenants. Otherwise amending the act again and again and then taking U-turns without touching the core of the Act it will just show of Birbalshahi to fool the agricultural tenants. If the Act was implemented after amendment in 1967, all tenants would have become owners of land in 1980 but sadly the government is not looking after interest of farmers.”
