In response to:
Message: 7
Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2011 08:54:50 -0400
From: Pandu Lampiao pan...@gmail.com
To: Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!
Subject : Mamlatdar... first class magistrate?
Pandu is right; almost all Notaries attest blindly for a good fee but Mamlatdars
do it a lot cheaper but with lot more fuss. I had once a very unpleasant
experience. Just before my daughters wedding I went to see the Registrar at
Margao and told him that my son-in-law to be was from Navelim and since it came
under his Jurisdiction, asked him what documents were required, I was told I
should get a residency certificate from the Canacona Mamlatdar stating that my
daughter was from my village. So I told him that I had my daughter's ration
card, passport and the election card which specifically state that my daughter
is form Nuem of Khola village in Canacona Taluka. So he said even then the
residency certificate was needed.
So I walk into the Mamltdar's office a few days later, with all the required
documents at my disposal, I asked my daughter to sit outside and I went to the
Mamlatdar, being a Judicial Magistrate, had to ask permission if I could come
into his presence, my wish was accepted and there I was infront of him with all
my documents (daughter's), birth certificate, election card, passport, school
and college certificates along with my ration card, with me as the head of the
family and my daughter's name clearly mentioned on it, my passport, election
card and ofcourse the original telephone and electricity bill and house tax
receipts. I am sure some may wonder why I had to carry all the above mentioned
documents. It's no laughing matter from past experience I know our authorities
can ask for any weird and absurd and we are expected to produce it.
Here I am in front of the Mamlatdar, Yes, why are you here ? was the first
question, I wasn't surprised at all with the absence of any courtesy, well I
said, I am told that I need to have a residency certificate for my daughter's
civil registration, are you from Canacona ? Was the next question followed with,
have you taken a residency certificate before ? Yes, I am from Canacona and no I
have never taken a residency certificate before. Ok was the call and do you have
your daughters birth certificate, ration card, election card ? Yes and here they
are.
The Mamlatdar looked at the name on the ration card and then the election card
and then looked at the birth certificate and there was a sly smile on his face
(probably thinking of a bribe), he said the ration and the election cards were
ok but birth certificate says born in Margao, which would be a problem, do you
have the school certificate ? yes, and along with that I gave the Graduation
certificate as well, hummm, we certainly have a big problem here, he said, I was
amused, I had all my documents right and what could be the problem ? Then came
the sarcasm, he said your daughter was born in Margao, finished school in
Margao and College too in Margao so how come you are here, you should go to
Margao for the residency certificate.
Surprisingly I did not loose my cool, I gave him my very broad smile and I asked
him if he had been to my village and he said yes, so I asked him if he saw any
hospitals there, the smile had disappeared, so I went on I am sure you did not
see any hospitals but did you see any good schools ? Again no answer and I made
a further point, there are no colleges either, so how did you expect me to get
these certificates from Canacona, Canacona proper is 30 KMtrs from my village
and Margao is 23 KMtrs so where do you expect us to go ? After some time he
asked me to show some other proof that my daughter was the resident of Nuem
Village. So I said, the ration card says she is the resident of the Village, the
passport says she is the resident of the village, and the election card too says
she is the resident of the village what more proof do you need are all these
documents not authentic ?
After sometime, he was at it again, and said that it is my problem and not his,
and asked me if I had the telephone or the electricity bill on my daughter's
name, it is here I lost my head and asked him straight if he was a Goan, and
told him that in Goa we do not register our houses in our children name and
asked if his house in his native villages was registered in his daughters name ?
That ruffled him up and he asked me to go out of his office, I said why and if I
had broken any laws ? I told him that I have my house in Nuem, in the village of
Khola, in Canacona Taluka, showed him the tax receipts, showed him the telephone
bill and the electricity bill and my election card and told him that I am a
resident of Canacona and as I pay my taxes it is the duty of the local
administration to present to me the documents that I require without any further
delay and told him that I will not move out until I get my daughters residency
certificate and warned him that if I was further
