In a move to bring about revolutionary changes in land management and land revenue system in Assam, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Basundhara 3.0 will be started in full throttle in the state after the Lok Sabha elections. Moreover, he also announced that the government has decided to reserve the revenue villages with 100 percent inhabitation of ST and SC communities.
Informing this at the closing ceremony of Mission Basundhara 2.0 at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati on February 16, Himanta Biswa Sarma said Mission Basundhara 3.0 will be more comprehensive in terms of land management and ensuring reservation of the revenue villages with 100 percent habitation of ST and SC communities.
Launched on 8 May 2022, Mission Basundhara 1.0 delivered 10 land-related services to the people and eight lakh land-related cases have been disposed of. On the other hand, Mission Basundhara 2.0, launched on 14 November 2022 could address the land rights of the people of the state.
Speaking on the occasion, the CM said that ever since came to power the present government has been relentless in bringing about revolutionary changes in land revenue and land rights system along with making the land revenue services digital. He said that Mission Basundhara 2.0, was launched mainly to address the needs of the indigenous people and it ushered in a new ray of hope to the indigenous people. He said that under Mission Basundhara 2.0 with more than 13 lakh applications, 84 percent of people who were given an ‘Offer of Settlement’ belong to ST, SC, OBC and MOBC. Under Mission Basundhara 2.0, in Brahmaputra Valley more than 3 lakh bigha and in Barak Valley, more than 1 thousand bigha land were settled.
Himanta Biswa Sarma also said that under Mission Basundhara 3.0, some next-generation reformation will be brought about in Assam. He said as part of Mission Basundhara 2.0, for giving ‘Offer of Settlement’ or land rights, people living for the last three generations in the state were considered, as a result of which people belonging to Tea and Adivasi communities suffered. In Mission Basundhara 3.0, the ‘definition of three generations’ will be waived off for the tea and Adivasi community people.
For the people of the Gorkha community, similar systems like the Tea and Adivasi communities will be applicable in Assam. Similarly, people belonging to the ST and SC communities will not have to submit a certificate of three generations to get land rights. Moreover, some organizations, and cooperative societies that have been occupying the land without proper rights, will also be given land rights under Mission Basundhara 3.0 with certain criteria.
Himanta Biswa Sarma also said that the people who are living in the Sunsali areas of Guwahati and Tea Garden Grant areas of Dibrugarh will be given one one-time opportunity under Mission Basundhara 3.0 to apply for land pattas.
He added that if such allotted lands are utilized for purposes other than those stated for the purpose as per the policy, penal provisions would be introduced and applied by the authorities. He further appealed to the concerned officials to take up divisions of exmali patta as a priority area. The CM also said a new service would be launched to facilitate digital delivery of geospatial maps to strengthen the land-record system across the state.
Referring to the National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS) by the union ministry of rural development’s department of Land Resources CM Sarma said currently this project is being implemented across six offices of deputy registrar in the Kamrup and Darrang districts.
