Chandikhole: Even as 92 years have passed, residents in nine revenue villages under Darpan tehsil near here in Jajpur district are yet to get land pattas (Record of Rights-RoR) due to lack of any fresh settlement works, a report said.
The settlement work which was done decades back is still prevalent in these villages. No fresh settlement or consolidation works have been taken up in these villages following which the lands of the residents are yet to be demarcated.
As a result, they failed to get pattas on their lands. In Sunguda, Darpan, Patrajpur, Charinangal, Kalsri, Panasudha, Matakatapur, Palei, Barada and other villages under Darpan tehsil, the land settlement work was carried out for the last time in 1926 under Land Reforms Act during the British colonial period.
Later, the residents were issued hand written land pattas in 1929. Since then, no fresh settlement works have been carried out in these villages.
Generations have passed but the residents are yet to get fresh land pattas on their lands. The British rulers left India in 1947 but the laws and systems they introduced during that period are still prevalent in many parts of the country and are yet to be abolished.
The India government introduced a new Land Reforms Act and abolished the Zamindari system in the country which was present during the colonial era. People in the state were issued fresh land pattas instead of the hand written pattas issued by the British.
However, members of over 15,000 families in these nine revenue villages were not issued with any fresh land pattas as the administration continued with the earlier land pattas issued to them by the British government.
The settlement works conducted by the British 92 years back is still prevalent in these nine revenue villages out of 259 villages falling under Darpan tehsil.
The lands in these nine revenue villages are yet to be demarcated as the administration is yet to carry out any fresh settlement or consolidations works in these areas. As a result, the residents in these villages have not received any fresh land pattas.
Later, land reforms were taken up in 250 villages in 1982 and completed in 1988. However, the administration failed to demarcate the borders of these nine revenue villages and stopped the settlement works in these villages under Section-9(1) and Section-13(1) of Land Reforms Act.
Consequently, the land owners in these nine villages failed to get land pattas on their lands. The absence of land pattas with the residents has deprived them of various government benefits.
As they do not have land pattas, the residents have failed to get caste certificates, residence certificates as well as bank loans or any other services.
They have been facing innumerable problems due to absence of land pattas which are required in various stages of life to avail various services and benefits.
Even during natural calamities like floods, cyclonic storms and droughts, they have failed to get any compensation from the government due to lack of land pattas.
Many of the lands in these villages have been sold for eight to nine times since they were last issued with hand written land pattas. All those who are purchasing the lands in these villages are also facing a similar situation.
Unavailability of land pattas has also hindered any corrections and changes on their lands. They have also failed to carry out the conversion of their land due to the same reason.
Many of the irrigated and non-irrigated lands are no more being used as farmlands and buildings have come up on them. However, the land owners have failed to convert the lands into homestead (Gharbari) lands in the tehsil office.
The banks refuse to give any loans to them when the land owners approach the banks for a loan for construction of a house on the land. Moreover, land acquisition for any projects has become a problem in these areas.
The government is laying stress on the land pattas issued in 1929 during land acquisition works but it has serious problems for the residents. Residents have demanded the state government to intervene and issue them fresh land pattas by carrying out settlement works in these villages.
When contacted, Pradeep Kumar Sethy, Darpan tehsildar admitted to the charges stating that his office has sought land records from the Settlement office at Jobra in Cuttack. He said that the land reforms in these nine villages will be carried out after the records are available to them.
PNN
