GUWAHATI: Former chairman of the Committee for Protection of Land Rights of Indigenous People of Assam and former chief election commissioner (CEC) of India, Hari Shankar Brahma lauded Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal for the government’s initiative to distribute more than one lakh land pattas to landless indigenous families.
Brahma however suggested a few more measures for ensuring land possession by landless indigenous people, including a land survey in the state.
“Only a proper land survey can give an exact estimate of available land in the state for settling the landless indigenous population,” he wrote in an email.
Brahma thanked the Assam government for distributing land pattas to 3.34 lakh landless indigenous families of the state in the past four years and said that such an initiative would ensure indigenous people’s control over the land of the state.
He further said that such steps would give confidence to the people of Assam about preservation of their identity and land rights.
It may be mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attended the state government organised programme at Jerenga Pathar in Sivasagar on January 23 and handed over land allotment certificates to the landless families.