the goan I network
MARGAO
Justice delayed is justice denied, so goes the good old adage. Welcome to the Matanhy Saldanha Administrative Complex housed in the imposing South Goa Collectorate, where one would not be surprised to come across complaints of frequent adjournment of cases, whether appeals or revisions for no fault of the litigants.
At a time when the government talks about good governance, it’s not uncommon to hear citizens complaining of adjournment of cases by the office of Mamlatdar, Jt Mamlatdars or the Deputy Collector, Margao. Beleaguered citizens say the Revenue officials ought to put a mechanism in place to cut down on the adjournments to save both time and money.
A case in point is the adjournment of an appeal/revision pertaining to a Mundcarial matter pending before the Deputy Collector, Margao. Hearing of the matter was scheduled on June 13 before the SDO at 3 pm. But, before the litigants could enter the hearing room, a notice display on the board outside stated that all the 27 cases listed for hearing on the day stands adjourned. The reason cited behind the sudden adjournment made reading interesting, with the notice stating that the Presiding Officer is busy with additional charge at Hospicio hospital, Margao.
This is not the first time that matters have been adjourned by the Presiding Officers for reasons other than administration. Instances are galore when the routine matter fixed for hearing stands adjourned over a host of reasons, to attend a meeting, be it election or magisterial or simply the pre-occupation with the election exercise.
“We do understand the situation of the Presiding Officer if he is holding an additional charge. But, what we don’t understand is why the SDO’s office has not worked out a mechanism wherein the litigants are informed in advance over the mass adjournment of cases, which would have saved them both time and money by way of lawyer’s fees,” remarked a litigant.
Litigants engage professional lawyers to represent them before the quasi judicial authorities.
“I have already spent over Rs 5,000 on my lawyer in this revision proceeding. The matter has been heard only once by the SDO, but I have to pay the lawyer’s fees since he makes time to attend the hearing, irrespective of the fact whether the case is called up for hearing or not,” the litigant lamented.
To add insult to injury, litigants are also sore over the fact that the Presiding Officer has given a long date of one month and half, with no possibility of the proceedings coming to an end at the earliest. “When the Presiding Officer adjourns a case because of an emergency, he should hear the matter by giving a short date. But, this is not happening on the ground for reasons best known to the authorities,” the litigant
remarked.
New Mamlatdar posted at Salcete office
MARGAO: Saxttikars’ year-long ordeal before the Salcete Mamlatdar office may hopefully come to an end now.
For, the government has finally transferred and posted a new Mamlatdar John Fernandes to head the office of Salcete Mamlatdar “ more than a year after incumbent Mamlatdar Vishal Kundaikar was promoted as Deputy Collector, Ponda, but was asked to continue holding additional charge of Mamlatdar Salcete.
It was in April 2017 that Salcete Mamlatdar Vishal Kundaikar was elevated as Grade II office and was later posted as Deputy Collector, Ponda. As a matter of routine administration exercise, the government ought to have relieved Vishal as the Salcete Mamlatdar upon his promotion, but that did not happen for the last 14 months, bringing the administration at the Mamlatdar office to a complete halt.
In the absence of a full-fledged Salcete Mamlatdar, administration in the office had come to a grinding halt, with half-hearted attempts to give the charge to a Joint Mamlatdar proving counter productive. Even officials in the know wondered why the government had to dilly-dally for 14-long months to appoint a full-fledged Mamlatdar when the work load is heavy in Salcete given its status as the largest populated taluka.
