Mangalore: The key speakers at the fourth annual meeting of Mulageni Okkalu Rakshana Vedike on Sunday urged the state government to “frame rules” under the Karnataka Conferment of Ownership on Mulageni Tenants Bill, 2011, conferring the rights on Moolageni tenants to become owners of the holdings in their possessions while providing compensation to landlords.

In August 2012, the Bill received the assent of the President. However, few landlords had approached the court asking for higher compensation of their land. The court in turn had sought the views of the State government. 

Speaking to newskarnataka.com, Joseph Martis, executive member of the Vedike said, about 30 per cent of property in the undivided Dakshina Kannada districts was under the moolageni system. Under this, the land-owners cannot reclaim the property, once it was handed over to the tenant. The owners collect a fixed amount, “geni”, from the tenants every year.

He said, the problem of non-agricultural Moolageni land had persisted for several decades since it was not brought under the State’s Land Reforms Act. The real estate boom in recent years has prompted land-owners to evict these tenants, he added.

Extending support to the mulagenis (tenants), MLC Ivan D’Souza said he will speak for the tenants in the next cabinet meeting to be held at Belgavi in November. “I will ask the government to set up a special committee to consider the opinion of both land owners and tenants”, he said.

In response, Advocate A.P Gowrishankar, legal advisor of Mulageni Okkalu Rakshana Vedike spoke on the need to ‘frame rules’. He said the tenants are ready to pay 1,000 percent more the fee to the land owners while transferring the land ownership.