“50 years back, one night I was shuddered by the crackle of a lightning. It was pouring like hell. A hapless woman with 6 children knocked on my door complaining about her alcoholic husband. She also pleaded for some roof as she had nowhere to go with her little children. On humanitarian and compassionate grounds, I offered them to stay in a thatched roof of palm leaves in one of my plots. They were paying a nominal rent in the early 70s. They filed to be declared mundkars and illegally encroached on the whole plot and have built a huge mansion and have got me entangled in a litigation for over 35 years,” said Amonkar (name changed) Bhatkar from Arrossim village.
Joao Francis D’ Sa from Cuelim village laments his plight “For many years, we are trying to get title of our dwelling structures and use to appear in person before the Mamlatdar in Vasco, but now with amendments to the Tenancy and Mundkar act introduced by BJP government, there is complete change in procedure and we now have to file a civil suit and this costs money. How we people of the ST community going to pay legal fees”.
This is plight of tenants, mundkars and even landlords — who for over decades have been fighting cases for claiming their right on the property- first before the Mamlatdars and now in the civil courts.
With over 2800 mundkars cases and nearly 3000 cases of tenants been pending for disposal for past several years, the Laxmikant Parsekar led government in 2014 bring in an amendment Goa Mundkars (Protection and Eviction) (amendment) Act 1975 and Goa Agriculture Tenancy Act 1964. The aim was to provide immediate relief to the mundkars and tenants from being evicted. As per the amendment the pending cases has to be disposed off within a period of one year from receiving the complaint.
With this, the overall procedure of the case changed where having a document of the land of receipts of the landlords became compulsion. In Mamladtar the farmers had hope that the case might come in his favour on the other side, valid proofs were required in court to prove that the lands belong to the tenant.
However, the relief turned out ‘calamity’ for these tenants and mundkars- many who even lost the battle in the court.
Former Union Minister for law Ramakant Khalap has raised severe objections to the amendment to the Agricultural Tenancy Act calling it anti-peasant and anti-farmer. “The Agricultural Tenancy Act of 1964 was something revolutionary because it was seen as a form of land security. But the subsequent amendment and notification in the years that followed created a problem,” he said.
“The recent amendment of the BJP government is a disaster. It has worsened the worries of tenants and mundkars. In last one and half year, several tenants have lost their cases and on top, also lost huge money towards fees to lawyers,” he explained.
He also added that while the Land Revenue Code had safeguarded agricultural land only for agriculturists and farmers, there were vast amounts of such land that is being sold. “Tiracol is the best example. Huge chunk of tenanted land is sold out for Golf course to a private firm,” he said.
Let us take one example of Pernem taluka. Nearly 90 percent population of Pernem Taluka is into farming and from overall cases filed in the civil court, 60 percent cases of them have already left out. Change in tenancy has overall created a vibration in the whole Pernem taluka. The situation is similar in Sattari, Vasco, Ponda, Salcette, etc.
Umesh Talavnekar tenant said,” The changes were made without the demand of the people. This decision is made for the benefit of landlords of upper caste & politicians of upper caste”.
There is much uproar against government by the tenants and mundkar communities. It’s vibe was felt during the Zilla Panchayat elections held in 2015, when the entire community went against ruling dispension and supported independent candidates in Siolim, Pernem and Ponda. The result also turned up in favour of them. BJP stalwarts like Laxmikant Parsekar, Rajendra Arlekar, Dayanand Mandrekar faced defeat in their areas- after their candidates failed to win people confidence.
The Rainbow Warriors feel that the tenants organizations need to be united. “The tenanted agriculture land was being acquired all over Goa and especially in Salcete in 2008-09 and there was a big movement. The matter reached to Sonia Gandhi and they ordered immediate stoppage but even after that the plunder continues” green activist and member of Rainbow Warriors Abhijit Prabhudesai said.
“The people are unanimously against this amended law across the State. The tenants are extremely angry. There is a fear that since many do not have documents to prove their right, it is difficult for them to approach court. The biggest problem is that over the year the legal fraternity has let the tenants down” said Rainbow Warriors.
The Rainbow Warriors have expressed the need for kind of supervision in the courts as the number of negative declarations given by the tenants are shocking- mockery of the law system. The organization stand is very clear that the lands of the tenants have to be given back to them as they are deemed purchasers.
“The Government has to make the process simple at the level of talathi and Mamlatdar and not in Courts. The law now has no constitutional validity. The Government has for 40 years not done their duties,” he said.
Expressing its concern, Joao Remedios Soares from CAC village said “We ST community people from times immemorial are residing in our dwelling places and these structures happen to be in a famous landlord of Cuelim who now resides in Mumbai.
