Guwahati, February 27 Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday asserted that all land ownership and related document issues of eligible people will be resolved in the coming years, as he launched the distribution of land deeds (ownership documents) under ‘Mission Basundhara 3.0’ from Deuri Beel in Dhemaji district.
The ‘Mission Basundhara’ scheme includes services like land mutation, updating of land records, and delivering these services to people at their homes through online mode without them having to visit government offices.
Sarma also initiated the land settlement process in previously unsurveyed (NC) villages where surveys have been completed under the SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas), a central sector scheme aimed at establishing clear ownership rights in rural areas.
Furthermore, under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, forest land rights were granted to 538 individuals residing in the Subansiri and Jiadhal Reserved Forests at the CM's event, according to an official release.
Speaking on the occasion, Sarma said that 1,06,905 beneficiaries across the state received land deeds on Friday, of which 44,700 are from Dhemaji district.
He said that Dhemaji was chosen to host the central distribution programme due to the large number of beneficiaries in the district.
Approximately 80 per cent of land-related issues have been resolved in the past five years, and the remaining cases, estimated at 2-3 lakh, will be resolved in the coming years to prevent indigenous people from suffering due to land disputes, Sarma claimed.
Asserting that land deeds have been granted only to Indian citizens, Sarma said that no ‘Bangladeshi national’ will be allowed to occupy land in Assam.
Referring to tea garden workers, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally launch the distribution of land deeds to them in the garden lines on March 13.
Highlighting the background of Mission Basundhara and the SVAMITVA scheme, the CM maintained that previous governments had not prioritized the systematic distribution of land deeds in Assam.
He claimed that land records in the state were often disorganized, leaving many people unable to obtain legal land ownership despite repeated attempts. In the absence of proper documentation, many faced difficulties in obtaining bank loans, while others exploited the situation to illegally occupy land.
Sarma said that upon forming the government five years ago, the first phase of Mission Basundhara was launched to systematically address land-related issues.
Assam has 78,000 square kilometers of land, and resolving all land issues within a short span is not feasible. However, once the process begins, it will eventually reach completion, he added.
In 2021, Mission Basundhara 1.0 was introduced to resolve issues such as converting annual patta land to periodic patta, correcting errors in land records, and reclassifying land categories. Around 5.82 lakh families benefited under this phase.
Mission Basundhara 2.0 focused on granting land rights to indigenous people residing for generations on government land, benefiting 2.29 lakh families, 85 per cent of whom belonged to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBC communities.
Land deeds have been granted to 8,406 religious institutions, 2,213 clubs and cultural organizations, and 13,637 educational institutions across the state.
Of the 903 NC villages in the state, surveys have been completed in 769 villages. Applications seeking land rights have been received from 1,06,372 families across 12 districts, of which 30,000 families have already been granted deeds. The remaining cases will be processed in due course.
The chief minister said that since the launch of Mission Basundhara, land-related grievances of 10 lakh families have been resolved.
Through Mission Basundhara 4.0 and 5.0, issues such as land reclassification and granting deeds to eligible non-tribal residents of forest villages will be addressed, he added.