HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Feb 22: Assam government will wipe out all land-related encumbrances as part of its land-reform measures, said state chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday.
Sarma said that government has been taking many revolutionary steps to wipe out the menace of middlemen in land dealings.
Related Posts:
“The government is committed to wiping out all encumbrances associated with land in the state as a part of its land-reform initiatives,” Sarma said while addressing a gathering during a programme in Dhemaji district where he started the process of distribution land pattas under Mission Basundhara 2.0.
The chief minister further stated that ever since the present regime in the state took over the reign of the government, it has been working dedicatedly to bring about socio-economic-academic empowerment narrative in the state.
He said the schemes such as Orunodoi, waiver of microfinance loans, ration cards, health insurance, transparency in government jobs recruitment, among others, are testament to the government’s commitment of making Assam free of all negative practices.
“The government is taking steps to ensure all beneficiaries of Orunodoi shall be entitled to the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana for which the premium will be paid by the state government,” he added.
Coming to pattas distribution, Sarma personally handed over a few land pattas to beneficiaries of Mission Basundhara 2.0 at a ceremony held at Kachari field in Dhemaji.
It is worth mentioning that under Mission Basundhara 2.0, a total of 38,000 applicants in Dhemaji district were found eligible for receiving land patta from the Assam government.
Speaking on the same, Sarma said all these years, members of the indigenous communities inhabiting in the state did not have documentary land records to legally claim their possession over the plot of land under their possession since time immemorial.
“Realising this irony, the state government brought about an amendment into the land rights Act. This led to the government deciding to provide land rights to the landless indigenous people,” the chief minister stated.
“I am happy to have started the process of distributing land pattas under Mission Basundhara 2.0 from Dhemaji district, as this process will enable our indigenous landless people to have official documents over his or her plot of land,” he added.
The chief minister also said that these land pattas shall enable the land-holders to record ownership of their land and empower them to use them as collateral, adding, “The digital form of the pattas would enable the beneficiaries to trace them in digilocker in the event of the pattas getting lost or misplaced”.
He added these land rights shall also enable the beneficiaries to enjoy the benefits of other government schemes.
Launching the distribution of land pattas under Mission Basundhara 2.0 from Dhemaji is a manifestation of the government’s commitment towards safeguarding the land rights of the people of the state, he remarked.
“The distribution of land pattas is also an initiative on the part of the government to empower the people. 84 per cent of the beneficiaries under this scheme are from the scheduled caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Other Backward Class (OBC) and other backward communities and therefore, granting them land pattas will ensure their empowerment,” he concluded.
