TV
The Odisha government is set to change the basic criteria for ‘landless’ individuals, offering a significant shift in land allocation under the Orissa Government Land Settlement Rules, 1983. Persons who possess less than four decimals of land will be considered ‘landless’ and will be entitled to a plot allocation, Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari said on Thursday.
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The Government aims to fill any shortfall up to the required four decimals by providing plots to eligible beneficiaries, the Revenue Minister clarified.
Under the current policy, persons with less land who aspire to obtain additional government land will initially need to transfer their existing land holdings to the Revenue Department. Once this transfer is complete, the beneficiaries will be allocated a consolidated plot of four decimals in a designated area.
“As per the provisions envisaged in Orissa Government Land Settlement Act, 1962, the State government previously decided to provide lands to those who are either landless or those who do not possess any homestead land. The scheme is successful,” the Minister said.
“However, some people have inherited less than four decimals of land from their ancestors. A house cannot be constructed on a patch of land less than four decimals. Unfortunately, those persons were earlier not being regarded as landless,” the Revenue Minister stated.
“The Government has plans to modify the Sub-Section 1 of Section 2 of Orissa Government Land Settlement Rules, 1983, which defines ‘landless’,” Minister Pujari added.
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Notably, land obtained through the Vasundhara scheme, formerly saleable, is now to remain within family records, transferable only to successors. This move is likely to ensure the land remains within families for generations, addressing historical issues of land ownership and fragmentation in Odisha.
