Lakhs of indigenous families given land rights: Assam CM

Guwahati, March 16 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday that the state government has provided land rights to lakhs of indigenous families through its flagship land settlement initiatives, asserting that the move fulfils the state government’s commitment to protect “Jati, Mati, Bheti” (identity, land and house).

In a post on social media platform X, Chief Minister Sarma said the state government has taken major steps to ensure land ownership for indigenous communities and tea garden workers while also freeing land from illegal encroachments.

Highlighting the progress under ‘Mission Basundhara’, the Chief Minister noted that more than 2.3 lakh families have become landowners through the initiative, which aims to streamline land records and provide land rights to eligible beneficiaries.

“Staying true to our promise of protecting ‘Jati, Mati, Bheti’, our government has not only freed up lands from the clutches of encroachers but also given indigenous people land rights for the first time since Independence,” Chief Minister Sarma said.

He added that around 35 lakh tea garden families have been granted land pattas for tea estate line lands, a step that seeks to provide legal ownership and security to workers living in tea estates for generations.

According to Chief Minister Sarma, the state government’s land reforms are intended to address long-standing issues related to land ownership, improve socio-economic security and empower communities that historically lacked legal rights over the land they inhabit.

He also reiterated the state government’s stand against illegal encroachment, saying that land in Assam must be preserved for its rightful residents.

“Assam’s lands are for its people, not for encroachers,” the Chief Minister said in the post on X.

The Assam government launched ‘Mission Basundhara’ as a comprehensive programme to resolve land-related issues, including settlement of land rights, correction of land records and distribution of land pattas to eligible families.

The initiative forms a key part of the state government’s broader policy aimed at strengthening land governance while ensuring that indigenous communities and tea garden workers receive legal recognition and protection of their land holdings.

–IANS

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