GUWAHATI, March 18 - The indigenous people who have not been able to get land patta even after staying on the same plot of land for decades would be provided land documents in the first phase itself. Rest of the indigenous people would get land patta in subsequent phases. This was announced by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal here today.
The Chief Minister�s announcement came following a meeting with chairman of the Committee on Protection of Land Rights of Indigenous People Hari Sankar Brahma and other members of the committee here, an official press release stated.
Asserting that without protecting the land rights of indigenous people, their language, culture and literature cannot be protected, Sonowal said that the State Government is committed to safeguard the interest of the people of the land and hence, steps like initiating reforms in land laws have been taken in earnest. �The government will act on the recommendations of the committee that has been formed for the first time to ensure land rights of the indigenous population,� he added.
The recommendations for reforming the land laws of 1886, safeguarding the interests of the indigenous people while selling or buying lands, etc., would be considered for implementation by the government, Sonowal said, directing the revenue department to streamline the classification process of lands removing all discrepancies.
The Committee on Protection of Land Rights of Indigenous People constituted under the chairmanship of Hari Sankar Brahma has already carried out discussions with various stakeholders like deputy commissioners, mouzadars, gaonburhas and local MLAs for protecting the land rights of the indigenous people of the State in a holistic manner.
The report of the committee, to be prepared after visiting all 32 districts, would be handed over to the Chief Minister in the first week of June this year.
During today�s meeting, chairman of the committee Hari Sankar Brahma said that an extensive land survey needs to be carried out in the State as there is no such survey conducted since 1964. He also opined that deputy commissioners must also be sensitised about safeguarding the rights of indigenous people during buying and selling of lands and the indigenous people must be made aware of their land ownership rights.
