Gandhinagar - Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel of Gandhinagar announced a significant decision to regularize possession rights for lands falling under the Inam Abolition Act. This move empowers the state's farmers, ensuring more control and ownership over their agricultural land.
Per the decision, the state government plans to regularize these possession rights by levying a 20% charge on the current jantri cost. This marks a deviation from earlier practices where the District Collector could only regularize lands up to two and a half acres. In a strategic move towards power decentralization, Chief Minister Patel abolished this acreage limitation, bestowing the District Collector with comprehensive regulatory authority.
Historically, in line with post-independence land reforms, several Inam Abolition Acts sought to provide land tillers with ownership rights, eliminating intermediaries. These reforms intended to end practices like Chakri and to establish individual land rights. However, a stipulated payment for these rights within a specific timeframe often went unpaid due to unawareness about the act. As a result, many farmers retained only subordinate occupancy, devoid of complete ownership rights.
This subordinate status led to various issues for farmers. Many such junior occupants sold their lands, and their non-regularized status meant they missed out on several governmental welfare schemes. Additionally, they faced challenges with title clearances during land transfers or repurposing.
In response to these highlighted concerns, the Chief Minister has expedited good governance. Following guidelines for transparent and straightforward administrative processes, the regularization of land possession will now occur more seamlessly.
By implementing this decision, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel demonstrates a proactive approach to address land ownership issues, ensuring non-agriculture permission, title clearances before developmental initiatives, and catering to the broader interests of the state's farming community. The objective remains clear - to resolve these concerns at the district level.
