Tuesday 24 February 2015

Thanks to bamon Raj, Goa complete five months of road to landless future for mulnivasis

This below is an extract of leaflet distributed during last Panjim Assembly Elections by Independent Candidate Sadanand Vaigankar of Goa Kull and Munkar Sangarsh Samiti.
 
You may be aware that Manohar Pant on 27th September 2014 in the name of amendment to the Agricultural Tenancy Act created new law for the protection of landlords, and all the tenants and mundkars have been pushed into misery.

By amending section 4 (a) of Agricultural Tenancy Act government has granted ownership rights to landlords. Via section 46 (b) Tenants are told to approach Civil Court to claim their ownership rights. Via section 60 (c) Tenants are told that in case they intend to approach the Court then they must do it within 3 years. After that tenants will have no right to knock the doors of the Court.

This amendment is opposite of Tenancy laws of 1964, 1965 and 1975. Section 4 (a) of The Agricultural Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 2014, Close 4A Contract farming – (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provisions of this Act, any person may by an agreement entered into in writing with the landlord or an owner of the land, and duly registered with the Sub-Registrar of the Taluka within whose jurisdiction such land is situated, cultivable, or undertake and carry out any agricultural operations upon, such land.
By this provision landlords can take all the land and strip tenants of all the rights. Most of the landlords are Bamons and almost all the tenants are mulnivasis. The intention of this law is to handover land control to Bamons, thereby ushering intensified rule of Bamon Raj i.e Manusmriti.

In opposition to this law Tenancy Act, 1964, section 7 and as per the government circular dated 20th December 1995 under no circumstances landlords can get these lands back. Even land abandoned by tenants cannot be reverted back to landlord. Who should get these land is also well set by section 18 J of the above cited government circular.

Circular
    “ A question has arisen as to whether a tenant who is the deemed owner of land under the Goa, Daman and Diu Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964 (Act 7 of 1964), can revert the land back to the original landlord.
     The matter has been examined and it is hereby advised that under no circumstances can a tenant under the Act, 1964 revert the land back to the landlord but the land shall be disposed off in the manner provided in sub-section (2) of section 18 J of the said Act, 1964.”
A Cardozo, Under Secretary (Revenue) to the Government of Goa.
Panaji, 20th December 1994

Parrikar’s new law is in complete opposition to the existing law. Section 4 (a) is meant to cheat, loot and against the interest of the tenants. Within this one section Parrikar has destroyed 1964 and 1975 Tenancy law. Through the new pro-landlord law section 46 (b) Parrikar has fixed that tenancy cases will be filed in session court alone. But as per section 58 of Goa, Daman and Diu Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964 no Court has jurisdiction to settle, decide or deal with any question which is by or under this Act.

“Section 58. of Goa, Daman and Diu Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964 – (2) save as provided under this Act, no Court shall have jurisdiction to settle, decide or deal with any question which is by or under this Act required to be settled, decided or dealt with by the Mamlatdar, Tribunal, Collector or Government and no order passed by these authorities under this Act shall be questioned in any Civil or Criminal Court.”

Under Section 46 (b) no tenant will get Justice in Session Court. This is because 95% of tenants does not posses their receipts, their names are not entered in Form I & XIV, someone else’s name is entered in Form I & XIV as tenant. It is next to impossible to get witnesses in the Session court. Court will not be able to go and inspect the paddy fields and investigate, for it has no powers to do so. And most importantly tenant has to search and get Opponent landlord. From where the landlord of he two-three generation past will be found by the current generation of tenant to be presented in the Court as Opponent? If Landlord is not presented as Opponent then Court will not accept the case for hearings.In this circumstances no tenant will get Justice. After expiry of three years landlord will personally take over the land.

Under section 60 (c) Manohar Pant (Pant is a title used exclusively in Bamon kingdom of Peshwayee in Pune that was destroyed by  Mahar regiment of British empire in bloody war of 01/01/1818) speaks of providing speedy justice to tenants.

25 years ago BJP set up its shop in Goa. It was then BJP’s first elections. From that day we fought thousands of agitations, so many marches (yatras) went criss-cross Goa. In 2000 BJP government was formed in Goa under Parrikar’s leadership.  Yet for past 25 years Parrikar has not launched a single agitation to get Justice for Tenants, never thought about their rights.

For past 25 years we have not worked for any political party except BJP. We have not voted for any political party except BJP. In this context we cannot question Congress. We are questioning Parrikar. Fro past 50 years tenants in Goa have been denied Justice. Of these Parrikar is responsible for 25 years. If he wanted then through agitation, could have pressurized any government in power and helped tenants to attain Justice. He was the leader of the opposition for past so many years. So, then why he never raised the issue of tenants to government in power?

In March 2012 BJP government was established why he thought of amending tenancy law after two and half years, after Lok Sabha Elections concluded? He was thinking that public will not understand the conspiracy behind this two-and-half years of silence. He knew if he had to bring amendment then it would have negatively affected both the Lok Sabha Seats in Goa.

The Second question, Parrikar used to make public statement repeatedly that people should ‘frame BJP’s Assembly and Lok Sabha Elections and hang on wall’. But in these manifestoes nowhere has he mentioned that he is going to invent Tenancy law and usher in Landlordism that is Bamanism. This he concealed intentionally from Goa’s Bhahujan Samaj.

Mostly Tenancy lands are under control of Bhahujan Samaj and Parrikar has betrayed them. This they have not realized till date as Parrikar has driven them to misery. Eyes of Bhahujan Samaj are blindfolded with numerous government schemes. They will not stay blind for long. The day the eyes of bhahujan Samaj will open Parrikar will realize the power of Bhahujan Samaj. They have not yet understood that the so many welfare schemes that Parrikar has implemented has dished out money that are siphoned off from the pockets of bhahujan samaj itself are returned as schemes.

At Central government level after BJP came to power with absolute majority Narendra Modi has smashed he backbone of farmers. In order to create misery Modi repealed two important legal safeguards on 1st January 2014. Prior to this farmer was legally safe and secure. In one legal provision it was maintained that if government want to acquire farm land of double crop variety then it was mandatory for the government to take permission of 80% of farmers. After that as a compensation government had to pay 4 times of the contemporary market rate; it was mandatory that while giving this compensation also pay 100% interest for a year.

The second legal provision that was repealed was farmers’ right to challenge land acquisition in the Court of Law. Now both these safeguards are done away with and state can acquire any land at any price and farmers will have no right to challenge in the court of law.


Now if any farmer securely engaged in his farming business and his land is confiscated, what should this farmer do at this moment?

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