People from a particularly vulnerable tribal group, the Dongria tribe, are seen at a polling booth in Niyamgiri area of Odisha’s Rayagada district. | Photo Credit: File photo
The Government of Odisha has directed all revenue divisional commissioners and district collectors to review the issue of protection of land rights of tribals in scheduled areas of the state and controlling and checking the transfer of their immovable property as per Odisha Scheduled Area Immovable Property (OSATIP). Scheduled Tribes) Regulations, 1956.
In a recent communication, the Department of Revenue and Disaster Management reminded the chief officers of 13 districts about their role in protecting tribal land rights.
Last year, the cabinet drew criticism from all quarters after the previous Naveen Patnaik government amended OSATIP to allow tribals to transfer their land to non-tribals. The then government had to postpone the decision.
In the said decision, “Scheduled tribe people can take a loan from a public financial institution as a gift or exchange for public purposes or for agriculture, residential house construction with the written permission of the sub-district. Children’s higher education, self-employment, establishment of business or small industries or to be transferred to the name of a non-Scheduled Tribe person for the above purposes.
The Revenue Department’s latest communication has clearly reminded the authorities to prohibit transfer of land of ST persons to non-STs with effect from September 4, 2002.
“Many sub-collectors are allowing cases to be heard indefinitely. Adjournments are granted regularly. No limit is set on the maximum number of time-trials allowed, the maximum time in which cases will be disposed of. The cases have been getting delayed for disposal for years,” said the department on OSATIP implementation.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India had indicated inordinate delays in disposal of OSATIP cases. “On scrutinizing the information and records provided by the eight examined Sub-Museums for audit, it was observed that 2,134 cases covering 1,932.4258 acres of land were pending before the Sub-Collectors till February. 2022,” says the CAG report.
The government has demanded immediate restoration of tribal lands if they are occupied illegally. “The government is putting a lot of emphasis on returning the actual land to its legal owner. 10% of the cases rehabilitated in the field will be examined by the collectors and 20% of the cases by the respective sub-collectors,” he stressed.
published – December 19, 2024 at 01:41 am IST