Report on tribal lands Negligence of State Cabinet panel glaring

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Is the four-member Cabinet sub-committee at all serious in its crucial duty of examining the important issue of lands in tribal belts and blocks as well as lands for Gorkhas classified as ‘grazziers’, and recommend measures to the government? Not at all, one will certainly say, in all seriousness.

Following the approval of the new ‘Land Policy-2019’ by the State Cabinet last year, the State government constituted a four-member Cabinet sub-committee on November 20 last, headed by State Industries & Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary. The other members of the panel are Tourism, WPT & BC Minister Chandan Brahma, Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta, and Minister of State for Cultural Affairs, Panchayat & Rural Development Naba Kumar Doley. Secretary of Revenue & Disaster Management Department Dilip Das is the member-secretary of the Cabinet sub-committee.

The panel is supposed to make recommendations to the Government after examining issues related to the indigenous inhabitants in the tribal belts and blocks as well as the Gorkhas classified as “grazziers” within a stipulated three-month period. The formation of the Cabinet sub-committee was notified on November 20, 2019. Over two months have already elapsed, but the committee has not held even a single meeting on the crucial matter as yet. If this is not glaring negligence of the Cabinet panel on the crucial issue, what else is? It is certain that the remaining less than one month time is not enough for the Cabinet sub-committee to examine the crucial matters and send recommendations to the Government. What is often done in such matters in the State is extension of the time period of the Cabinet committee, and in the instant case too such a move is on the cards. This is just an example of as to why the State government scripts records in missing targets.

There are 85, 80,842 bighas of land under 17 tribal belts and 30 tribal blocks in the State. The process of reservation of land under such belts and blocks started soon after the country’s Independence.

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