Chhatrapur: Thousands of farmers eked out their living from salt farming in Huma under Sadar block of Ganjam. However, the farmers have lost their livelihood over last 11 years. Salt farming has stopped in the area while hundreds of acres of salt land along the coastline have been left unused.
Notably, salt lands along the coastlines of the country are owned by the central government. The lands are leased out for salt farming for specific periods of time.
On the other hand, the state and the central governments have not taken any decision on the proposal of the transfer of land ownership.
The issue was raised in the Assembly by MLA Subash Chandra Behera Friday. Behera wanted to know what steps the government has taken to revive the age-old practice in the interest of salt farmers.
In response to a question, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Dibyashankar Mishra said that the Salt Commissioner (a government of India official) at Jaipur in Rajasthan had leased out 729.694 acres of land to Huma and Binchhnapalli Salt Production and Sales Cooperative Society on a lease basis for 25 years since February 1, 1991.
“Later, the central government had increased the ground rent and assignment fee from 2010-11 to 2014-15. Salt farmers were unable to deposit their dues. As a result, the salt commissioner revoked the lease September 16, 2014 and even rejected the lease renewal proposal from the salt cooperative society,” he pointed out.
Mishra also stated that the state government had urged the central government to cut down the ground rent and assignment fees several times in the past, but the latter has not taken any action on the state government’s proposal.
The central government, which owns the salt lands, had proposed the state government to take up the lease management of salt farmlands and wanted its opinion. However, the state government wanted a change of land ownership not the lease takeover, he noted.
The minister made it clear that the next course of action will be taken by the state government in this regard only after both the sides take a final decision.
PNN
