BTC takes reformative steps for land-related services: Ranjit Basumatary

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: Executive Member (EM) of Land and Revenue and Forest and Environment Ranjit Basumatary on Saturday divulged the steps taken by the government of BTR regarding several reformations on land and revenue for the interest of the people of the region. There had been no initiative of land reforms and clear policies in the past that nurtured misperception among the communities over the purchase of land, inheritance, mutation, settlement and transfer works as the BTC is created under 6th schedule of the Indian Constitution with lands of tribal belts and blocks where possession of lands has legal obligations.

Speaking to media persons in a press conference in Kokrajhar, EM Ranjit Basumatary said there had been an Executive Council meeting on July 4 where land related issues were discussed and several reformative steps were taken to culminate the pending problems. He said most of the violence occurred in the past was because of land related issues. According to him, the BTC was established using the tribal belts and blocks' lands under the 6th schedule of the constitution, which requires non-tribal individuals and foreigners to satisfy specific legal requirements in order to acquire land. He said the council government had identified the root cause of violence and to remove the confusion among the communities, the government has reformed land related subjects by simplifying the process of acquiring documents and certificates. According to him there had been no initiative of land reforms and policies to address the decades long problems of land but the present government has taken several reformative measures by launching “Mission Bwimuthi”.

Basumatary said for purchase of land, mutation, registration and transfer either for urban and rural there had been no standard rate of premium and revenue and people had to pay 75 pc of total land valuation for registration. “People have been paying such a huge amount for land registration but for rural land premium, the ST, SC, disabled persons and widows have been given relaxation by the present government. Only Rs 1000 was taken for registration,” he said adding that the valuation of urban land is fixed at Rs. 24 lakh as official rate per bigha and for conversion of urban land, the people of general caste have to pay 15 pc of total land valuation as registration fee per bigha while the SC, ST, disabled and widows will have to pay 13.5 pc for the same. This step is taken so that indigenous people find easy ways for conversion and registration of land, he said.

He said “Mission Bwiswmuthi- 1.0” was a revolutionary step of government of BTR towards digitizing the land records of all the revenue village of BTR which has simplified the access to mutation by right of inheritance, mutation after deed registration, partition, reclassification of agricultural land to non-agricultural land less than 1 bigha, allotment certificate to periodic patta (AC to PP), area correction, striking out of name from patta, name correction, mobile number updating, certified copy of jamabandi, certified copy of chitha and land holding certificate. However, these services are applicable only for Bodoland Territorial Region.

The EM said for land jarip, the council had already carried out drone surveys in 50 non cadastral villages and land patta would be given to them. He also reminded that there had never been jarip by the previous government. He said out of 60 villages of Sonitpur and Biswanath districts to be included in BTR, as many as 41 villages have been included. He also said the FRC Committee will sit for land related issues of these districts. He also said 1,00600 families have been given land settlement certificates in BTC.

Basumatary said altogether 84 employees of BTC Secretariat who have been working since the then Bodoland Autonomous Council (BAC) in 1993, would be given one time grant as pension benefit after retirement. This decision was taken in the Executive Council meeting, he said, adding that the grant would be given from the Revenue fund of the council.

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