PANAJI
Several legislators from both the Opposition as well as treasury benches targeted officials of the revenue department, in particular mamlatdars (executive magistrates), as they tore into the functioning of the various quasi-judicial officials in dealing with land ownership and transfer processes.
The MLAs questioned the sheer laxity in following the rule book in the various proceedings related to registration of sale deeds and mutation while participating in the discussion on demands for grants pertaining to the Revenue Department, Collectorates, Land Survey and Records besides Waste Management and Science and Technology, all departments held by Revenue Minister Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate.
Legislators from both sides -- Carlos Alvares-Ferreira, Altone D'Costa, Venzy Viegas, Viresh Borkar and the Lobo couple among others -- lampooned mamlatdars, joint mamlatdars and deputy collectors for their dubious roles in hundreds of land fraud cases related to both privately held land as well as Communidade properties.
Alvares-Ferreira recounted with specific examples how vast tracts of land belonging to Comunidades are being fraudulently transferred, sometimes with the active connivance of some members of the Comunidade's managing committees. He demanded that some legislation be brought in to ensure that individuals involved in such shady acts are barred for life from holding any position in the Comunidade committees.
Another issue raised by Alvares-Ferreira was the dubious acts of mamlatdars in the land mutation process. Citing an example from his own Aldona constituency in Nachinola, he pointed out that one particular mamlatdar in a single stroke completed the mutation process of eight properties of a family transferred to a third party based on a questionable 'inventory' effected in Quepem. The Aldona MLA claimed that when he threatened a High Court challenge, the said mamlatdar admitted he had done it and reversed the mutation.
Ruling BJP MLA from Siolim, Delilah Lobo, also raised grave issues in the functioning of officials while dealing with mutation processes. She said mutation of the controversial Assagao property was done for Pooja Sharma within 24 hours and that too on a Sunday and questioned why local Goans do not benefit from such fastrack services in the revenue department.
She said locals are asked to publish notices in newspapers after which the mamlatdar and deputy collector take endless months to study the application. “This is not acceptable,” Lobo said and demanded that mutation processes sought by locals should also be fast-tracked.
Another legislator from the ruling side, Calangute MLA, Michael Lobo, said the Revenue Minister should conduct an inquiry over the role of certain mamlatdars who were responsible for the nearly 1,200-odd fake (fraudulent) sale deeds.
Describing the dubious process of one particular case from Anjuna, Lobo said that the officials involved should not be merely suspended but 'termination of services' proceedings must be initiated. "He (mamlatdar) should be hung upside down (tokli sokol, paiem voir)," Lobo said in jest even as he raised a number of red flags over the casual manner in which revenue officials went about executing changes in land records and inserting fresh names in Form I & XIV while deleting original names.
