Land deals between religious communities: Authorities instructed not to issue NOCs for three months

Guwahati: The Assam government has instructed district authorities not to issue a no-objection certificate (NOC) for any land dealings between members of different religions for a period of three months. This measure has been adopted in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, so that no untoward situations arise during this time.

The Principal Secretary in the Revenue Department has issued the instructions whereby it is stated that it has come to the notice of the government through reports from intelligence agencies that several cases of attempts to transfer land by fraudulent means are happening in some places of the state, where land is being forcibly sought to be transferred to some religious communities from other religious communities and attempts are being made on the part of people with vested interests to create conflict on communal lines, particularly in the run-up to the ensuing elections to the Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.

The instructions from the Principal Secretary, Revenue Department, have been issued to District Commissioners (DCs), Director of Land Records, Inspector General of Registration, and District Registrars. The instructions state, “In view of the above reports, the Government of Assam is pleased to direct that all cases for grant of NOCs for sale of land under Section 21A of the Registration Act, 1908, where the buyer and seller belong to different religions, shall be kept in abeyance for a period of three months from the date of issue of this notification. However, if the district commissioner is of the view that the grant of such an NOC is absolutely necessary in some attending circumstances and will not lead to any breach of law and order, the same may be issued with the prior concurrence of the Inspector General of Registrations.

Sources said that recently several cases have come to light where clashes have taken place between two religious communities concerning land deals and where the district authorities had to step in to control the situation arising from such incidents. It was also mentioned that a section of people with vested interests are trying to create a situation that may hamper the upcoming elections.

Also Read: Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred with Bhutan’s highest civilian award ‘Order of Druk Gyalpo’

Also Watch: