Margao: Members of the South Goa Advocates Association (SGAA) staged a protest at the South Goa collectorate on Tuesday over inordinate delays by mamlatdars in processing mutation and partition files, alleging maladministration, inefficiency and malpractices in the district’s revenue administration.The advocates claimed that the standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the collector on Dec 24, 2024, was not being followed, resulting in harassment of the common man. They submitted a supplementary memorandum to collector Egna Cleetus on Tuesday.In the memorandum, signed by SGAA president Clovis da Costa, the association said assurances given by the additional collector at a meeting following its earlier representation had brought “no perceptible improvement”. These included holding monthly mutation camps, conducting an inquiry into a complaint against the then joint mamlatdar-IV, and ensuring strict compliance with the SOP.The SGAA alleged that files were frequently reported missing, applications were not processed chronologically, and even online applications routed through the sub-registrar remained pending for months. It also cited information that certain agents were allegedly paying illegal gratification to secure preferential treatment. The association objected to the joint mamlatdar-I recalling files already certified by the previous mamlatdar and restarting the process.The advocates demanded an independent, time-bound inquiry into the functioning of all mamlatdars, a system to track files, and accountability for non-compliance.The collector assured the delegation that the issues would be addressed within a week. She said the existing SOPs would be implemented to the letter and an inquiry would be conducted into the complaints against a mamlatdar.The advocates later confronted the inspector at the survey and land records department over delays in processing applications and demanded that an SOP be put in place at the earliest.
