PM to allot land patta among over 1 lakh people in Assam

GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a special programme of the Assam government to distribute 1.06 lakh land patta and allotment certificates among indigenous people of the state on Saturday.

The programme will be held at Jerenga Pathar in Upper Assam’s Sivasagar district.

The Assam government, taking into account the urgent need to protect the land rights of indigenous people of the state, has come out with a comprehensive new land policy with renewed emphasis on protecting the land rights of indigenous people.

The issuance of patta/allotment certificates for indigenous people of Assam has been given the highest priority in order to instill a sense of security among them.

Assam had 5.75 lakh landless families in 2016.

The incumbent government has distributed 2.28 lakh land patta/allotment certificates since May 2016, an official statement said.

The ceremony on Saturday marks the next step in this process.

This will also be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first major public rally in Assam ahead of the Assembly elections in the state in April-May this year.

Meanwhile, the newly-floated regional political party, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) took a dig at the government saying that the entire event was conducted to gain political mileage ahead of the elections.

“Allotment of land patta after prolonged habitation is a natural process which can be done by a mandal or a circle officer… The ruling party has launched propaganda of patta allotment only to divert public attention, at a time when the indigenous people of Laika-Dodhia villages are facing innumerable hardships. In reality, it has miserably failed to secure the land rights of the indigenous people,” AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi told reporters here.