PM to launch programme to allot 'patta' to over a lakh in Assam tomorrow

"Tomorrow morning I would be among the people of Assam. At a programme in Sivasagar, 1.06 lakh land pattas/allotment certificates will be distributed. We are committed to doing everything possible to preserve the rights and unique culture of the great state of Assam," PM Modi tweeted on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday will launch a special programme of the Assam government to distribute land 'patta' or land allotment certificates to over one lakh landless indigenous people.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses during the 18th Convocation of Tezpur University through video conferencing in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI Photo)

"Tomorrow morning I would be among the people of Assam. At a programme in Sivasagar, 1.06 lakh land pattas/allotment certificates will be distributed. We are committed to doing everything possible to preserve the rights and unique culture of the great state of Assam," PM Modi tweeted on Friday.

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "The prime minister will formally launch the distribution of land 'patta' to more than one lakh indigenous people who have been living uncertain lives for decades. No government in Assam has ever took such a people-friendly initiative in the past."

Sonowal said to fulfil people's aspirations, the BJP- led government took this initiative to safeguard 'jati, mati and bheti (community, land and roots).

This is for the first time since independence that such a large number of people will be given 'patta' in Assam in one go, news agency PTI reported.

The event will be held at Jerenga Pothar in Sivasagar district, a historical place connected with Assam's erstwhile Ahom kingdom.

The Sonowal government has already allotted land 'patta' to more than one lakh landless indigenous families.

Subsequently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also start his two-day visit to Assam and Meghalaya, and will visit Guwahati on January 23.