PORVORIM: Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte has demanded that cases which are under the Agriculture Tenancy Act and have been pending before the mamlatdar for more than three years, should be declared as deemed tenants.

He said during his tenure in the Cabinet, the Agriculture Tenancy Act was amended, wherein the all the tenancy cases were reverted back to their respective mamlatdars fixing a deadline of three years for their disposal. The Act had said that, if these cases are not disposed of in three years, the applicant becomes deemed tenant of the property.

Khaunte informed that hundreds of such cases are still pending with the mamlatdar even after three years have passed, thus forcing the applicants to run from pillar to post.

He demanded that the government immediately issues an order making all these applicants as deemed tenants as per the Act. “The Government will have to clarify the position of the act. The responsibility also has to be fixed on the respective mamlatdar for failure to decide on these cases within the stipulated time,” said Khaunte.

Khaunte further said that the government will have to clarify under which Act they would be treating all the rest of the pending cases if there is no further amendment to the Act.

He recalled that during his tenure, the department had started Special Courts on Saturday to fast track these cases