Many tenants have lost their agricultural land after the government, in 2014, made amendments to the original Agricultural and Tenancy Act 1964. The amendment has allowed the landlord to shift the tenancy cases to the Civil Court from the Mamlatdar office.
The tenants fear that they will lose their cases in the court which demands documentary evidence. The government’s contention was the cases were delayed by mamlatdars and the amendment was done so that the cases would get speedy solutions.
Following the amendment, several meetings have been convened by the affected tenants in Ponda who fear this change could be a backdoor entry to grab their land there are tilling.
After a lot of hue and cry, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had assured to review the cases after one year and if need be to revert them back to the mamlatdars. The tenants, however, doubt the intention of the government and fear the land they are tilling will be taken away from them.
A meeting recently organised at Mardol was to mobilise pubic support to compel the government to withdraw the amendment to the Tenancy Act of 1964. The meeting demanded that more mamlatdars be appointed instead of shifting the cases to the civil courts. Although the government says that the amendment was to solve the cases pending with the mamlatdars, people argue that it is a conspiracy to delay and deny tenants their rights to their land.
Spearheading this movement in Ponda taluka, Ramakrishna Zalmi, leader of the Goenchea Kul Mundkarancho Avaz (GKMA), said many tenants have lost their cases after they were shifted to the Civil Court from the Mamlatdar offices.
According to Zalmi, around 50 tenants have already lost their land in Pernem taluka while four had to give up their land in Ponda because they failed to provide documentary evidence to their claim.
The tenants could file their petition with the mamlatdars with witnesses and affidavits which does not hold water in the Civil Court which demands documentary evidence.
The tenants say that the government seems to have conveniently forgotten the original noble intention of the Tenancy Act which was to provide land to the tillers who were actually cultivating the land for their survival.
The GKMA has held several awareness meetings in Ponda to oppose the amendment and have also submitted a memorandum last month demanding the government scrap the amendment done in 2014 to the original Tenancy Act.
“The only solution would be to appoint additional mamlatdars. The sole aim of the Act was to provide justice to the tillers since most of the time the landlords would reap the benefits from the farmers who would toil in the fields,” said Zalmi.
According to Govind Gavde, who is the office bearer of United Tribals Associations Alliance (UTTA) and also of Gomantak Bahujan Mahasangh, the amendments are done in the interest of the landlords.
As per the original Act, which was enacted by Goa’s first Chief Minister, late Bahusabeb Bandoddkar, the farmers who are tilling the land are deemed tenants. Gavde feels the BJP-MGP government carried out these amendments without consulting the public and the farmers but only in the interest of the landlords and builders by sacrificing the interest of the poor farmers.
“This is a great failure on the part of the government. The MGP, which is the original party to bring about the Act, has become a silent spectator to the amendment.”
