Assam Government: Rights Over Land For ‘Protected Communities’

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam government is planning to bring about legislative measures to protect the land rights of smaller indigenous backward communities of the State. This will be in line with the prevalent laws in the tribal belts and blocks. The new classes of people will be designated as ‘protected communities’.

In this regard, the Revenue and Disaster Management (R&DM) Department of the State government has decided to constitute a High Power Committee (HPC) to identify these communities. Sources informed that most of these small classes of people are spread across the State. The HPC will study the socio-economic aspects of these communities and submit its report to the department. Based on the report, the State government will take the final decision.

Talking to The Sentinel, a top official of the R&DM department said, “It has come to the notice of the State government that many of these indigenous small communities of the State are fast losing their lands to outsiders. If it continues, these smaller indigenous communities will not have right over their land in the near future. Hence this move has been taken by the State Government.”

This provision has been incorporated in the ‘Land Policy, 2019’ to which the State Council of Ministers has already given its assent on October 21. It states that the “Government shall examine the necessity of declaring new classes of people under protected category in order to safeguard the land rights of indigenous backward classes of the people of Assam. For recommending the same, Government may constitute a High Power Committee.”

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