Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has initiated the process to accord ‘revenue village’ tag to approximately 4,000 hamlets.
So far, the government has received more than 3,500 proposals that are pending at district level for years for the creation of new ‘revenue villages’.
Discussions on this issue have been continuing for a substantial period of time now. Revenue and Disaster Management Secretary Bishnupada Sethi issued Wednesday detailed guidelines for declaration of the new ‘revenue villages’.
This development has come after the approval of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. All the district collectors have been asked to follow the guidelines.
As per the guidelines, hamlets with a population of 250 and above and located at more than half-a-kilometre from the mother village, will be accorded ‘revenue village’ tag.
Hamlets with a population of more than 300 will also be given the same status. In the case of a hamlet with a population of less than 250 being separated from the mother village by a natural barrier, will also be a ‘revenue village’.
“It is also ascertained that misinterpretation of the existing instructions at district level pertaining to reservation limit for Gochar and communal land has resulted in non-disposal of cases,” Sethi said in his letter to collectors.
Residents of the newly-formed villages however, will still have access to existing Gochar and communal land in the mother village, said Sethi. He clarified that all communal as well as Gochar land shall be considered as common property resources (CPR) for both the villages.
The matter of creation of new villages has been brought up several times in the state Assembly and other forums. Most of the proposals were not considered in view of shortage of Gochar and communal land, official sources said.
The government was also being deprived of resources without new revenue villages, which would have been otherwise available under different Government grants/schemes, the source said.
“The state will now create approximately 4,000 new villages which would benefit the people,” Sethi informed.
PNN
