Assam announces land ownership deeds to over 40K indigenous people

The decision was taken after chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal held a review meeting with the revenue and disaster management departments, people familiar with the development said.

The Assam government announced on Thursday that it will provide land ‘pattas’ (ownership deeds) to more than 40,000 landless indigenous people of the state.

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal (Subhendu Ghosh / Hindustan Times)

The decision was taken after chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal held a review meeting with the revenue and disaster management departments, people familiar with the development said. During the meeting, the CM directed the revenue department officials to take appropriate steps so that the target of giving land deeds to over 1 lakh people in 2020 could be achieved.

A statement issued by the CM’s office said it was decided to provide ‘satras’ (Vaishnavite monasteries) and ‘devalayas’ (temples) a sum of Rs2 lakh each annually, in addition to the regular annuity they are given by the state government.

On Wednesday, the CM said, during the last three-and-a-half years, his government has allotted land ‘pattas’ to more than 50,000 ‘khilonjiya bhumiputras’ (indigenous sons of the soil). “This year, we will provide land deeds to over one lakh indigenous people because they need to have an ownership rights over the plots which they have been occupying for years,” he had said.

Assam has been at the centre of anti-CAA protests with several groups fearing that the newly-amended law would lead to an influx of migrants into the state thus disrupting its ethnic fabric.

“People expected Sonowal to act like a lion (to protect the interest of Assamese), but it has turned out that he is actually a cat who cowers down to the powers in New Delhi,” said AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogo