Call to restore ceiling surplus xatra land; Commission writes to Implementation of Assam Accord Department

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Commission for Review & Assessment of Problems of Sattra Lands in Assam (CRAPSLA) has requested the Implementation of Assam Accord Department to ensure that xatra land which was acquired by the State Government under the Ceiling Act, 1969 is restored to the respective xatras, along with other active measures to protect land belonging to various xatras of Assam.

The CRAPSLA has articulated these requests vide a letter to the departmental minister.

The letter further requested the Implementation of Assam Accord Department to prepare a proper data base of various matters pertaining to all xatras of Assam.

The CRAPSLA further urged the department to ensure that no person who professes any other faith should be allowed to stay within a 100-metre radius of any xatra, asserting that only such a step can ensure proper conduct of xatra activities such as gayan-bayan, kirtan etc.

Mentioning that some xatras have given xatra land to sharecroppers (on aadhia basis) belonging to other religions, the CRAPSLA requested the department to take steps to reverse the process and also prevent further sale/sharecropping of xatra land. Further, the CRAPSLA has sought scientific measures to preserve invaluable relics, artifacts and pamphlets possessed by many xatras.

The commission also called for steps to protect the land and heirlooms which were owned by the ancestors of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev. Similarly, the CRAPSLA sought preservation of the Mahendra Kandali Tol of the Rampur Xatra, which was known as the Nalanda of Assam.

The letter also stated that the xatras of Assam have come under threat due to illegal migration and asserted that this is the proper time to protect the xatras of the State.

Talking to The Sentinel, CRAPSLA's chairman and MLA, Pradip Hazarika said that under Clause-6 of the Assam Accord, the State Government has a responsibility to preserve and protect the xatras of Assam because they constitute the heart of the State. It may be recalled that the State Government had recently constituted the three-member CRAPSLA to look into the matter of encroachment of xatra land in Assam.

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