When Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte promised a revolution in this department in 2017, he raised hopes of ensuring smooth and speedy disposal of litigation cases in revenue courts. It’s close to 2 years, but apart from the proposed Revenue Bhavan in Porvorim and a few patchy changes in the system, there is not even a whiff of a change for the common man, leave aside the avowed revolution.
While the backlog of pending mundcarial, partition and tenancy cases are mounting year on year, frequent adjournments continue to be the hallmark of a flawed system. And with the election season nearing, it’s only going to get worse with officers being called for poll duty. Nobody spares a thought for the hundreds of common citizens who queue up before the revenue courts with their advocates in tow only to be turned back and their litigation cases adjourned because the presiding officer is not available. In a recent case on January 2, litigants in the mundcarial appeal and revision cases at the Dy Collector office, Margao were sent back after a notice read that the officer was not available since he has additional duty at Hospicio hospital.
Khaunte has given empty promises all along. If he has sought report from collector on adjournment of cases on January 2, cases scheduled for January 3 in the Court of Deputy Collector, Margao were rescheduled because Khaunte had fixed a meeting of revenue officials at the secretariat. There are numerous occasions where cases have been adjourned because the presiding officer is attending to additional duties, including overseeing law and order situations.
The revenue minister has promised to put up a system, but how long that is going to take is anyone’s guess. The process of proceeding with litigation cases is no walk in the park and takes painstakingly long, sometimes spanning across years. Moreover, citizens are not spared of legal fees by advocates for making an appearance. Much was expected from Khaunte who is also the IT Minister. In a digital age, where the government is talking tech, he still relies on snail mail to communicate with litigants and when it comes to adjournments, he prefers not to communicate at all.
People await a revolution in real terms. The agony and hardship faced by the common man will not ease off with your sweet talk. Going through the litigation process continues to be a frustrating ordeal involving patience, colossal waste of people’s time and money. If Khaunte is serious about a revolution, he needs to appoint dedicated officers for hearing these cases exclusively in all revenue courts. Moreover, litigants should be informed of any change in schedule in advance to save them of precious time and money. Let revolutions be in the interest of the people of Goa.
