land Policy Likely to be placed before Council of Ministers today

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The decks seem to have been cleared for the ‘new land policy’ to replace the 30-year-old State land policy of 1989. The Revenue and Disaster Management department has already placed the draft policy to the Cabinet Cell. The draft may be placed before the Council of Ministers which is set to meet on Monday, for its approval.

If the Council of Ministers gives its nod to the draft policy, the new land policy will be notified.

The draft land policy has incorporated views of all departments that are stakeholders, besides judiciously taking into consideration all legal aspects. Of late, the Chief Minister has also given his nod to the draft policy, paving the way for its tabling either at a Cabinet meeting or at a meeting of the Council of Ministers.

Talking to The Sentinel, a top-level official of the State Revenue and Disaster Management Department said, “At the official level the decks have been cleared for placing the draft land policy before the Cabinet or the Council of Ministers, as the case may be. If the Cabinet or the Council of Ministers approves the draft policy, it will be notified.”

Earlier, the Finance Department gave its second and final view as well as assent to the draft land policy. The new policy may see the light of the day by the end of October or November.

The draft ‘Land Policy-2019’ has been prepared by officials of the Revenue and Disaster Management department in consultation with senior officials of that department and the Chief Minister’s Office. The draft report is based on the recommendations of the ‘Committee for Protection of Land Rights of the Indigenous People of Assam’ headed by former Chief Election Commissioner Hari Shankar Brahma, the ‘Land Policy of 1989’ and the draft ‘Land Policy of 2016’. The Brahma Committee was constituted on February 6, 2017, by an order issued by the Governor of Assam.

After drafting the ‘Assam Land Policy-2019’, the Revenue department had forwarded the draft copy to 11 State government departments seeking their views including ‘inclusion to’ or ‘omissions from’ the draft land policy. Besides other departments the Home and Political, Law, Personnel, Agriculture, Forest, Finance, Industry, Guwahati Development Department, and Urban Development etc had sent their views and suggestions.

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