Ranchi/Jamshedpur: On the eve of 100 years of the Chhotanagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act coming into existence, the tribal organisations in the state advocated amendment in the act besides its proper implementation.
The organisations conceded that the act helped the tribals retain their land, but sought legal rights to sell their plots to tribals from any part of the state. They also advocated scrapping of the Bihar Scheduled Area Regulation Act (1969), which has the provision of legalising illegally transferred tribal lands.
Against the backdrop of industrialisation efforts by several business houses in Jharkhand, who now need land, the tribals want the CNT Act amended so that their lands could not be acquired for industrialisation. They want the state to constitute a committee of experts to draft the amendment.
“Around 20,000 cases of land restoration are pending across Jharkhand at this point of time. This proves that the act has been ineffective in preventing sale and transfer of tribal land across the state,” said Surya Singh Besra, the head of Jharkhand Front and a noted tribal leader.
“Today, the tribal population in Jharkhand stands at just 26 per cent. This will dwindle further if steps were not taken to ensure that the tribal land remained with tribals,” said district head of (youth) JMM Ramesh Hansda.
The CNT Act had come into existence on November 11, 1908. According to the CNT Act provision, a tribal landholder can sell his land only to a tribal person residing under the same police station where the land is situated.
“In 1975, the CNT Act was amended and general land holders were given the right to sell their land to any person from any part of the country. This facility should be extended to tribals as well, as it would enable them sell their land to any tribal from across Jharkhand,” said P.N.S. Surin, a CNT Act expert and a former bureaucrat.
Surin, with other experts, has prepared a formula to amend the act.
Rashmi Katyan, a noted lawyer of Ranchi civil court and an expert of the CNT Act, said: “There is little scope of amendment in the CNT Act to stop land acquisition for public purposes. But other loopholes created by successive amendments can be plugged.”
Meanwhile, several tribal organisations took part in a meeting organised by BIRSA, Ranchi, an NGO, today to discuss the relevance of the act.
“We will be handing over a memorandum to Governor Syed Sibtey Razi suggesting various corrections in the act, which is important in the present day,” said Binit Mundu, the co-ordinator of the programme.
Jharkhand Parha-Raja Mahasamiti, an organisation of tribal chieftains, would also hold a rally here on Tuesday to commemorate the 100 years of the act in Jharkhand.
Source: Telegraph India
The organisations conceded that the act helped the tribals retain their land, but sought legal rights to sell their plots to tribals from any part of the state. They also advocated scrapping of the Bihar Scheduled Area Regulation Act (1969), which has the provision of legalising illegally transferred tribal lands.
Against the backdrop of industrialisation efforts by several business houses in Jharkhand, who now need land, the tribals want the CNT Act amended so that their lands could not be acquired for industrialisation. They want the state to constitute a committee of experts to draft the amendment.
“Around 20,000 cases of land restoration are pending across Jharkhand at this point of time. This proves that the act has been ineffective in preventing sale and transfer of tribal land across the state,” said Surya Singh Besra, the head of Jharkhand Front and a noted tribal leader.
“Today, the tribal population in Jharkhand stands at just 26 per cent. This will dwindle further if steps were not taken to ensure that the tribal land remained with tribals,” said district head of (youth) JMM Ramesh Hansda.
The CNT Act had come into existence on November 11, 1908. According to the CNT Act provision, a tribal landholder can sell his land only to a tribal person residing under the same police station where the land is situated.
“In 1975, the CNT Act was amended and general land holders were given the right to sell their land to any person from any part of the country. This facility should be extended to tribals as well, as it would enable them sell their land to any tribal from across Jharkhand,” said P.N.S. Surin, a CNT Act expert and a former bureaucrat.
Surin, with other experts, has prepared a formula to amend the act.
Rashmi Katyan, a noted lawyer of Ranchi civil court and an expert of the CNT Act, said: “There is little scope of amendment in the CNT Act to stop land acquisition for public purposes. But other loopholes created by successive amendments can be plugged.”
Meanwhile, several tribal organisations took part in a meeting organised by BIRSA, Ranchi, an NGO, today to discuss the relevance of the act.
“We will be handing over a memorandum to Governor Syed Sibtey Razi suggesting various corrections in the act, which is important in the present day,” said Binit Mundu, the co-ordinator of the programme.
Jharkhand Parha-Raja Mahasamiti, an organisation of tribal chieftains, would also hold a rally here on Tuesday to commemorate the 100 years of the act in Jharkhand.
Source: Telegraph India
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