The South Goa Advocates Association has decided to expand its agitation over delays in mutation and partition proceedings into a pan-Goa movement, citing missing files, non-sequential processing and prolonged pendency in revenue offices. The association is seeking a revised standard operating procedure, clearer accountability and a collector-led mechanism for grievances against orders passed by mamlatdars.
The decision was taken at a general body meeting reviewing the association’s discussions with South Goa collector Egna Cleetus. SGAA president Clovis da Costa said the collector had promised a revised SOP, but it had not been issued. The association plans to submit its inputs after reviewing the SOP issued in 2024.
According to Da Costa, the existing procedure does not fix responsibility for delays in mutation and partition cases. He also questioned the provision under which an applicant aggrieved by a mamlatdar’s order has to approach the same mamlatdar. The association wants such grievances to be considered by the collector instead.
The lawyers’ body said the problem affects applicants as well as legal practitioners because mutation and partition proceedings are tied to the updating and division of land records. It said the delay is not limited to South Goa and that lawyers in North Goa face similar difficulties.
The association pointed to the disposal of 210 mutation cases in half a day after its protest earlier this month. It had submitted a memorandum alleging maladministration and malpractices in revenue offices. Da Costa questioned why the cases could not have been processed earlier if they could be disposed of after the protest.
The SGAA has alleged that files frequently go missing, applications are not processed chronologically and online applications routed through sub-registrars remain pending for months. Its demands include an independent, time-bound inquiry into the functioning of all mamlatdars, a file-tracking system and accountability for non-compliance with prescribed procedures.
The association has also raised allegations about agents operating at the South Goa collectorate. Da Costa said streamlining the system would leave no place for such intermediaries. The allegations were reported as part of the association’s demands and were not independently established in the supplied report.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant had assured action against officials found responsible for the delays, Da Costa said, but the association claimed that no action had been taken so far. The collector had earlier assured the delegation that the issues would be addressed within a week.
The proposed statewide agitation places the functioning of Goa’s revenue administration under wider public scrutiny. The immediate next steps are the association’s submission of recommendations on the 2024 SOP and the expansion of its protest to North Goa. The administration’s response to the revised SOP and its proposed grievance mechanism will determine how the dispute proceeds.
