Assam govt may restrict some land dealings to those living in state since 1951

The Assam government is working on a law to allow land dealings in select revenue circles only between people who have been residents of the state since at least 1951, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said.

Sarma said on Sunday (September 8) that new laws are being enacted and amendments being made to existing Acts to ensure and protect the land rights of indigenous people, while also giving settlement rights to the landless, eligible dwellers.

“Bold law” to be brought in March

Sarma was speaking at the launch of e-Chitha Land Valuation Certification portal, a citizen-centric service of Assam State Disaster Management Authority.

“An important thing we want to do is to identify a few revenue circles where the sale and purchase of land can be done by people residing there in 1951, names of whose families appear in the 1951 voter list or NRC. It is a bold law. We will bring it in March,” he said.

He said the launch of e-Chitha Land Valuation Certification portal will make it possible for people to check the history of ownership of a plot of land and prevent record manipulation, which will especially benefit business houses while setting up new units.

Plan for undivided Goalpara

He said similar laws, like one allowing land dealings only within the same category in the case of Scheduled Castes, Schedules Tribes, and Other Backward Classes in the undivided Goalpara district, will also be brought by his government.

Undivided Goalpara district consisted of present-day Goalpara, Dhubri, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar and South Salmara-Mankachar districts.

Worry for “jati”

“Many such laws will be brought during Mission Basundhara implementation. Revenue officers should understand the spirit of our government. If we cannot safeguard our jati (community) today, we can never do it in the future,” he asserted.

“We are working in government at a critical period. Our work will prove whether we can survive as a jati or not,” Sarma added.

Law to protect core agricultural land

A new law to protect core agricultural land will also be soon brought by the government, he said.

Mentioning the amendments already made, he said, “In the last Assembly session, we have added a new chapter 12 to an existing Act, which allows the sale of land within a 5-km radius of ‘iconic structures’ to only people residing there in 1951 or before... This is a secular act for both cultural and religious structures.”

While the new amendment is being applied in parts of Barpeta and Batadrava and entire Majuli at present, the government will soon write to District Commissioners (DCs) to list iconic structures in their respective districts for such protection, he added.

Protection of tea land

Through an amendment to another existing law, the sale of tea land for non-tea growing purposes without government consent has been made a punishable offence, Sarma said.

He maintained that this was in line with the Justice Biplab Sarma committee report on the implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.

On other land-related reforms being pursued by his government, the CM said Mission Basundhara will be launched on October 2, incorporating the success and experiences of the first two editions.

While about eight lakh people benefitted under Mission Basundhara 1.0, which was launched on October 2, 2021, the second edition was rolled out on November 14, 2022, with over two lakh beneficiaries under it.

Mission Basundhara 3.0

He said Mission Basundhara 3.0 will deal with applications rejected under the previous edition also, as provisions have been made to ease guidelines for deserving, indigenous communities to get land rights through the process.

Temples, namghars, youth clubs, and cremation grounds, among others, will also be covered under the latest edition, with the first two only open for individual land settlements, he added.

Surveys of non-cadastral villages have also been done and several of these are at the settlement stage, which is hoped to be covered under Mission Basundhara 3.0, the CM added.

A non-cadastral village is one which did not have any map or land deeds.

Escalation model

Sarma said an “escalation model” has been introduced in the Revenue Department, through which if a matter is not disposed of or resolved within a specific timeframe by an official, it will automatically reach the next higher official.

“This escalation model is like the ones followed in corporate houses. Assam is among pioneers in introducing it in the government sector,” he added, while requesting the chief secretary to introduce it in other departments as well.

Sarma added that various other steps are also being pursued to make land-related works transparent and ease the burden of work on the officials.

(With agency inputs)