Jaga Mission conundrum: Slum dwellers asked to pay premium for LRC

Odisha government’s flagship scheme, Jaga Mission is getting increasingly embroiled in controversies as the drone survey allegedly returned faulty measurements of land area to be allotted to beneficiaries.

As per reports, there are a lot of slum dwellers in Bhubaneswar who have received notices from the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to pay different premium amounts because the drone survey has found they have been residing on more than 323 sq ft of land.

On top of that, the government is forcing the beneficiaries to pay up the premium amount within three days of notice in order to receive the LRC.

It is pertinent to mention here that as per the Jaga Mission rules; eligible slum dwellers will be provided Land Right Certificates (LRCs) free of cost if they have been staying on a land of less than 323 sqft. If anybody is found to have been occupying more than 323 sqft then they will have to pay a premium amount to receive the LRC. However, the government can provide LRCs to beneficiaries who have been occupying land up to 485 sqft.

It has been alleged that slum dwellers with a land area of less than 323 sqft too are given notice to pay the premium amount to receive the LRC.

“The BMC has sent notice to me to pay Rs 1.26 lakh in three days. I sell vegetables and I am staying in a single room of 150 sqft. Where would I get money to pay. I have not paid them, neither have they given me land papers,” said a resident of Gandhi slum, Prashant Mishra.

“We paid Rs 10500 to get a 484 sqft land. We have been staying here for a long time. The government will not provide us land rights if we do not pay," said Pragati Patnaik, a resident of Dhirakut slum in Bhubaneswar.

“We have seen in slums where people who are staying on land below 323 sqft being charged fines of lakhs of Rupees. We want a correct survey of the beneficiaries and return of excess land from the people who do not require more than 323 sqft,” said the President of Slum Dwellers Protection Forum, Anjan Nath.

Asked about the allegations, BMC Commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange said, “The allotted lands are subject to verification. There are some areas near the airport where drone survey could not be done because of flying restrictions on drones. So every process is available for further scrutiny. That is why we have opened four grievance cells to address such complaints and rectify them. It is a continuous process.”