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KOKRAJHAR: The Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Mancha (BJSM) on Thursday slammed the move of the All Bodoland Minority Students' Union (ABMSU) to move the Gauhati High Court to stop eviction drive against illegal encroachers in tribal belts and blocks and said that the students' union was the protector of illegal Bangladeshis.
The president of BJSM, Janaklal Basumatary said that the ABMSU was wrong to challenge the High Court's order to implement the provision of tribal belt and block of chapter X of Assam Land and Land Revenue Regulation, 1886 as amended in 1947. From the date of notification of tribal belt and block area, non-tribal and non-protected class of people are prohibited to acquire land by transfer, lease, exchange, agreement or settlement within notified tribal belt and block area, he said, adding that the purchase and sale deed registration between tribal and non-tribal was prohibited by amendment of section 162(2) of chapter X of ALLRR 1886, as amended in 1947. This non-protected class of people, after notification of tribal belt and block, is prohibited to acquire land by any mode of land transaction in notified tribal belt and block area in Assam, including in BTC, he said. He also said that any body found residing in tribal belt and block after notification were to be treated as illegal encroachers under provision of chapter X of Assam land law and were liable to be evicted forthwith.
"There are a large number of encroachers in 4 lakh bighas of land in tribal belts and blocks in violation of the provision of Assam land law. When the governments of Assam and BTC failed to implement the provision of the existing land law, the Gauhati High Court ordered the DCs of districts of Assam and Principal Secretary of BTC to implement the provisions of chapter X of ALLRR 1886 as amended in 1947 in letter and spirit and evict all identified encroachers," he said, adding, "The ABMSU cannot obstruct this eviction of illegal encroachers as per law. The eviction does not include the non-tribal non-protected class of people residing before the notification of the tribal belt and block."
Basumatary said that the claim of the ABMSU that the eviction included the non-protected non-tribal people residing since British time was wrong as the eviction did not include these people. "The eviction is against who are residing after the notification of tribal belt and block. The ABMSU is known as the protector of illegal encroachers. It should be declared as an unlawful organization," he said.
The BJSM leader added that the ABMSU was wrong to say that all the non-tribal people residing before 2003 would get land transaction right as the illegal encroachers in tribal belts and blocks were liable to be evicted and not eligible for any land patta or land allotment. "No non-tribal residing after 2003 BTC Sixth Schedule Act shall have land transaction right in BTC except those non-tribal people residing in BTC who are eligible for land rights as per the land law of Assam," he added. He further said that the announcement by State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to issue land patta to 19,000 families in BTC without specifying the eligible class of people was contradictory. "The indiscriminate issue of land patta without specifying the eligible class of people and without conducting survey settlement will lead to gross violation of land law. The eligible persons will get land patta in normal course of official work. It does not require public announcement by politicians. It amounts to political use of government machinery for securing votes in elections. It is dangerous if the land patta is issued in violation of land law of Assam and in violation of BTC sixth schedule law. So before implementing this direction, the minister and BTC CEM Pramod Boro must clarify the eligible class of people to whom they are going to issue land patta without survey and settlement. There are restrictions to issue land patta or allotment in VGR and reserved forest land," said Basumatary.
He further added that the government should have issued direction to officers concerned to issue land patta without any delay to the eligible persons as per land law of Assam and BTC sixth schedule law in Assam as well as in BTC. "Before that they must ensure the total eviction of the illegal encroachers as per law," he said.
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