To bring revolutionary changes in land management and land revenue system in the State, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Mission Basundhara 3.0 will be launched full throttle in Assam after the Lok Sabha elections. He also said that the Government has decided to reserve revenue villages with 100 per cent habitation of ST and SC communities.
He said this during the closing ceremony of Mission Basundhara 2.0 at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati. Dr. Sarma said that Mission Basundhara 3.0 will be comprehensive in terms of land management and ensuring reservation of the revenue villages with 100 per cent habitation of ST and SC communities.
Launched on 8 May 2022, Mission Basundhara 1.0 delivered 10 land related services to the people and eight lakh land related cases have been disposed off. On the other hand, Mission Basundhara 2.0, launched on 14 November, 2022 could address the land rights of the people of the State.
The Chief Minister said that the Government, since coming to power, has been focused on wringing changes in land revenue and land rights system while attempting to digitize the land revenue services. Dr Sarma said that Mission Basundhara 2.0 was launched to address the needs of the indigenous people to give them a ray of hope. The Chief Minister said that under Mission Basundhara 2.0, 84% people of the more than 13 lakh applicants who were given ‘Offer of Settlement’ belonged to ST, SC, OBC and MoBC. Under Mission Basundhara 2.0, in Brahmaputra Valley settlements of more than 3 lakh bigha could be done while in Barak Valley, the number stood at more than a thousand bigha.
Dr. Sarma also said that under Mission Basundhara 3.0, some next generation reform will take place. The Chief Minister said that as part of Mission Basundhara 2.0, for giving ‘Offer of Settlement’ or land rights, people living for the last three generations in the State were considered, because of which people belonging to the tea and Adivasi community suffered.
“In Mission Basundhara 3.0, the ‘definition of three generation’ will be waived off for the tea tribes and Adivasis. For the Gorkhas, a similar approach will be applicable. Similarly, people belonging to ST and SC communities will not have to submit certificates of three generations to get land rights,” said Dr. Sarma.
The Chief Minister added that organisations and cooperative societies that have been occupying land without proper rights, will also be given land rights under Mission Basundhara 3.0 based on well-defined criteria. The Chief Minister added that the people who are living at Sunsali area of Guwahati and Tea Garden Grant areas of Dibrugarh will be given one time opportunity under Mission Basundhara 3.0 to apply for land pattas.
During his speech, the Chief Minister said the land within char areas would be surveyed under Mission Basundhara 4.0. He said land survey of char areas was not an option but a necessity as habitations in certain char areas pose risks to the surrounding ecology and the environment.
“In the next 5 years, the aim is to establish a modern land revenue system that will be able to provide innovative solutions to all land related problems in the State.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister launched the process of distribution of land pattas under Mission Basundhara 2.0 from Dhemaji district. He handed over land pattas to beneficiaries at a ceremony held at Kachari Field in Dhemaji. Under Mission Basundhara 2.0, a total of 38,000 applicants in Dhemaji district were found eligible for receiving land pattas.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sarma said all these years, members of the indigenous communities inhabiting the State did not have documentary land records to legally claim their possession over the plot of land under their possession. “The amendments in the Land Rights Act were to address this anomaly,” he said.
The Chief Minister added these land pattas will enable the land-holders to record ownership of their land and empower them to use them as collateral. “The digital form of the pattas will enable the beneficiaries to trace them in a digi-locker in the event of the pattas getting lost or misplaced. These land rights shall also enable the beneficiaries to enjoy the benefits of other government schemes,” he said.
