Staff reporter
DIPHU, Aug 22: Representatives of several social organisations today met Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) secretary in-charge of Land & Revenue Department, Si-im Taro. They submitted a memorandum, urging the KAAC to strictly follow the rules and provisions laid under the Sixth Schedule to the Indian Constitution.
The delegation led by Litsong Rongphar and accompanied by leaders of the KSYC, ASDC(S), KATSSA, KYDA, and ITPKA strongly stated before the officials that land pattas must be issued after proper investigation and without neglecting the provisions of rules framed by KAAC and the Sixth Schedule to the Indian Constitution.
“When tribals lose control over their land, the tribe itself will cease to exist,” said one of the delegation members.
“The question is not about ‘Lease Patta’ or ‘Permanent Patta’, it is about which non-tribal families are entitled to own land under a Sixth Schedule area,” he added.
They urged all political parties in Karbi Anglong to refrain from taking political benefits from the issue by putting the tribe’s rights at stake.
“KAAC CEM said that families who have been residing in Karbi Anglong prior to 1951 are entitled to get land pattas. He must also declare that if any non-tribal coming to Karbi Anglong after 1951 has land pattas, such documents will be cancelled,” said Litsong Rongphar. The CEM must clarify this at the earliest so that there will be no misunderstanding among people, he added.
The delegation also met the ARO and ASO looking after the Phuloni Revenue Circle, the institution that recently issued land pattas with alleged printing mistakes. They issued land pattas to land owners with ‘Lease Patta’ mentioned on the documents. This stirred a dissatisfaction among the non-tribal communities, which they took as an act of deprivation against them.