Govt moots new land leasing act to help sharecroppers

Bhubaneswar: The state government is planning to bring in a new land leasing act to recognise and protect the rights of share croppers across the State, Revenue minister Bijayshree Routray revealed after a meeting of the inter-ministerial group on the issue here today.

According to sources, suggestions will be taken from land owners and sharecroppers on the contours of the act through the tehsildar. These suggestions will be collected within a span of three weeks after which a decision will be taken.

However, it has not yet been decided whether a new act will be formulated or amendments will be made to the existing legislation, informed sources.

“We are proposing to have a Land Leasing Act. The sharecroppers till now have been deprived from various benefits. Through this act, they will get the benefit of crop insurance, compensation in case of crop loss and all other benefits provided by the State government. Earlier, these benefits were only reaching the land owners,” said Routray.