AGP MLA pushes Assembly for quick land patta to 85,000 Guwahati hill residents

Guwahati, Nov 27: Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) legislator Ramendra Narayan Kalita on Wednesday called upon the State government to streamline and fast-track the process for granting land patta to people residing in Guwahati city, especially those belonging to the indigenous communities.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Kalita said that while lakhs of families across Assam have received land patta since the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government took charge, the process has been slow in Guwahati.

“Many families have been living in the hillocks located in Guwahati since the 1960s and 1970s. However, steps have not been taken to provide them land patta. There are 28 such areas in Guwahati and around 85,000 families reside in those places. Very few of them have received land patta. Some areas in the hillocks are forest lands, some are under the Revenue department, and some are Debottar property,” he said.

Kalita pointed out that many people belonging to the ST communities are also residing in the hillocks of Guwahati and added that they have a right to land ownership under the Forest Rights Act of 2006.

“These are indigenous people. Measures should be initiated to give land rights to the indigenous people in Guwahati, both in the hillocks as well as in the plains. There should also be a joint survey to demarcate forest lands, the land under the Revenue department and the Debottar lands. The government should ensure that people of Guwahati receive land patta at the earliest,” he said.

In his reply, Minister of Revenue & Disaster Management Keshab Mahanta said the State government has provided land-related services to the citizens under Mission Basundhara, Mission Basundhara 2.0, and Mission Basundhara 3.0.

He said that some relaxations have been made under Mission Basundhara 3.0 for citizens whose applications were rejected during Mission Basundhara 2.0.

“In Guwahati, some legal hurdles exists preventing allotment of land patta in the hillocks,” Mahanta said.

He added that granting patta is prohibited in places that come under reserved and unclassed forests.

“We have to adhere to the laws. However, at the same time, effort has been made to provide land patta within the existing framework,” the Minister said, adding that some indigenous families in Guwahati have been issued patta under the Forest Rights Act. He further said that a joint survey conducted by the Assam Engineering College (AEC) for the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) identified 366 vulnerable and landslide-prone spots in the hills of Guwahati.

By

Staff Reporter