Baripada: As many as 30 landless families in Akharshila village under Kalapathura panchayat in Shamakhunta block of Mayurbhanj district have been paying taxes for the last 27 years despite lacking possession of the land.
The state government had allotted 4 decimals of land to more than 30 families in 1998; however, they are yet to receive possession. For the past 27 years, the families have been paying land tax on the recorded plots. However, they remain excluded from housing schemes and other benefits because the land has not been demarcated or handed over to them.
The matter came to the fore when the representatives of the affected families met the District Collector to highlight the issue. Villagers said repeated visits to the revenue inspector and tehsil offices seeking land maps and identification have yielded no results.
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“As we have not been given possession, we are being deprived of housing schemes,” said villagers Sunaram Singh, Bhagirath Hansda, Sanatan Singh, Mangal Singh and Chunuram Singh.
The villagers warned that if the problem is not resolved soon, they will be forced to launch an agitation.
PNN