Tarun Gogoi

Guwahati, Oct. 30: Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi today publicly assured the landless residents of Guwahati that his government would give them land pattas as recommended by the Bhumidhar Barman Committee.

This is the first time Gogoi has assured settlement of land in favour of people residing in Guwahati and its surrounding hills in public. Most associated the development to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Gogoi was speaking at a convention on land, Rajyik Bhumi Moha Obhiborton, organised by the Guwahati Mati Pattakaran Sangram Samiti, which has been spearheading a movement to demand land for landless people in Guwahati since its inception in 2002.

The other movement to demand patta for landless people is headed by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti.

The Bhumidhar Barman committee report, published in June 2011 and approved by the state cabinet last month, had suggested allotting land, excluding forest and wetlands, upto a maximum area of 1.5 kathas for only residential purpose to those who have occupied the land for the past 10 years, from June 28, 2011.

Jubilant members of the Samiti told the gathering that the credit of solving the problem goes to “foresighted” Gogoi and the Congress government and appealed to the people to support Gogoi’s government.

Samiti leaders said the number of landless people who fulfilled the criteria of the report was 85,000 while the total number of landless people in Guwahati was 1.40 lakh. However, a survey conducted by the state forest department pegs the number at 65,000.

Revenue minister Prithibi Majhi, who attended the convention along with former revenue minister Bhumidhar Barman, also maintained that the number was 65,000, creating murmur and apprehension among the audience.

He said land would be given not only in the plains but in the hills too. “A section is trying to create confusion that land will not be allotted in the hills. We don’t have any problem in allotting revenue land of the hills.” Sources said of the 18 hills in Guwahati, nine fell under reserve forests.

While the Guwahati Mati Pattakaran Sangram Samiti is jubilant at the decision, the KMSS is determined to continue its movement for “land for the indigenous people who have lived in government lands till June 22, 2011”.

The Akhil Gogoi-led group termed the government’s decision of issuing land patta as a step to woo voters for the 2014 Lok Sabha election and to divert the KMSS’s movement.

The chief minister said the KMSS did not want a solution to the problem.

On May 5, 2009, the state government had formed a committee to demarcate forest land. But it is yet to submit its report.

The KMSS argues that if the government cannot demarcate forest land, how can it say that it will not allot land patta in forest land? Besides, it says indigenous people have been living in the hills for generations, even before the concept of forest land began.

The KMSS is demanding land for those “indigenous people who have been living here for ages”, including forest and wetlands.

The organisation said it morally does not support settlement in wetlands but would continue with its demand as it has seen Dispur allotting land to capitalists at some wetlands.

Rules say if a person lives on government land for 15 years or more he can get patta against the land by applying to the government and by giving a certain premium.

Around 20,000 bighas of revenue land will be required to implement the Bhumidhar Barman Committee report.

A large area of government land was encroached upon by government officials and other people who came to Guwahati when Assam’s capital was shifted from Shillong in 1972.