BONGAIGAON, Nov 11 - Alleged red-tapism and a poor public service delivery system in the Bongaigaon Deputy Commissioner�s office have allegedly denied the settlers in the non-revenue villages in the district their land rights under the Forest Rights Act-2006.
In 2018, Bhaoriakata Gram Sabha was formed under The Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act-2006, to work for ensuring land rights to the Forest Dwellers Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) residing in Salbari, Jhakuapara Pahartoli and Bhaoriakata-Garopara non-revenue villages that fall under Chaprakata Gaon Panchayat in Bongaigaon district. Under the Gram Sabha, two sub-committees were formed � the forest rights committee to enlist the beneficiaries with supporting documents, and the biodiversity committee to maintain the ecological-diversity in these villages.
Under the Act, the Gram Sabha and its two sub-committees needed approval from the district level committee and subdivision level committee so that they could submit the lists of beneficiaries with a complete set of required documents for final selection, before granting them rights over the land they have been residing in since long.
Altogether 51 beneficiaries from Salbari (residing on 154 bigha 4 katha land), 71 from Jhakuapara Pahartoli (100 bigha 4 katha land) and 83 from Bhaoriakata-Garopara (240 bigha 3 katha) had claimed land rights under the said Act.
It is pertinent to mention here that on August 18, 2018, the office-bearers of the public bodies had approached then Deputy Commissioner Babulal Sharma for his approval. Although the applications were duly received, Sharma was later transferred from Bongaigaon, and since then, the matter has been pending in DC office, according to Bhaoriakata Gram Sabha president Krishna Kanta Sarkar and forest rights committee general secretary Kartik Urao. Kartik claimed that he met Bongaigaon DC Dr MS Lakshmi Priya recently to air the grievances on behalf of the committees and sought her intervention in the matter. However, she instructed him to meet Additional Deputy Commissioner Dr Syed Tahid Rahman, who then sent him to the Public Facilitation Centre in the DC office. The personnel at the centre then told him to meet another officer, who was reportedly absent that day.
�We don�t understand the intentions of the government babus (officials); what we want is our land rights, without which we will not get the benefits of government schemes,� lamented poor claimants of Bhaoriakata Garopara.
It is noteworthy to mention here that Minister for Welfare of Plains Tribe and Backward Classes and Tourism Chandan Brahma had granted land rights to over 6,700 FDSTs and OTFDs in Baksa, Chirang and Kokrajhar districts in the Bodoland Territorial Council region under the Forest Rights Act-2006.
