Assam Government does not intend to issue land pattas in sar areas, says Revenue Management Minister Jogen Mohan

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Jogen Mohan today made it clear that except for Majuli, the Assam Government does not intend to issue land pattas in other sar (sandbar) areas of the State.

All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Aminul Islam (senior) today moved a private member Bill titled ‘The Assam Char-Chapori Land Regulation Bill, 2023’ in the House. After discussion on this Bill, minister Jogan Mohan in his reply said that except in Majuli, land pattas would not be allotted in other sar areas.

Earlier during the discussion on the Bill, MLA Aminul Islam (senior) said that separate land regulation was needed for sar areas in the State. “Many landless people reside in the sar areas. Most of them are erosion-affected people. These people reside in sar areas, on embankments and on government land. As they do not have land allotments, they are often evicted. These people have to be rehabilitated. As it is not possible to give them land pattas on PGR/VGR land or forest land, and government land is also not abundantly available, they should be given land allotments in the sar areas,” said the MLA.

He further said that this would serve two purposes – the landless people would be rehabilitated and when these people would engage in agricultural activities in the sar areas, it would boost the agricultural economy of the State and have a positive impact on the State’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). He, therefore, said that the government should consider this Bill.

AIUDF MLAs Ashraful Hussain and Mazibur Rahman, Congress MLAs Abdul Batin Khandakar and Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs Ganesh Kumar Limbu, Hemanga Thakuria and Dipayan Chakraborty took part in the discussion. The treasury bench MLAs opposed the Bill. MLA Hemanga Thakuria said that on Thursday, an eviction drive was carried out in a sar area in Palasbari and Bangladeshi posters were recovered during the drive. MLA Ganesh Limbu said that most of the people living in sar areas owned land elsewhere. Moreover, since it was difficult for the administration to reach out to the sar areas, criminal activities thrive in these areas.

Minister Jogen Mohan said that indigenous people of the State were being distributed land pattas under the Assam Land Policy-2019. “Under Mission Basundhara, the government had allotted land pattas to 3 lakh people. Under Mission Basundhara 2.0, 12 lakh applications have been received so far for land settlement. Out of these, 10 lakh applications are of people residing on khas land,” he said.

He added, “In Assam, there are two types of sar areas– temporary and permanent. At present, cadastral survey is going on in the temporary sar areas. Under Mission Basundhara 2.0, no land allotment will be given in the temporary sar areas. For the permanent sar areas, except Majuli, the government will take a decision later. We will also have to consider the ecological balance of the Brahmaputra.”

The minister said that some influential persons were settling people in the sar areas. The government, he added, would not allow these influential people and land brokers to call the shots in the sar areas. “Land pattas are given as per the Land Policy-2019. There is no need for a separate Bill,” said Mohan.

MLA Aminul Islam (senior) withdrew the Bill but said that the government should carefully consider the suggestions in the Bill.