Land Policy if Assam

LAND POLICY IN ASSAM

In earlier days, prior to independence, our population was sparse and land was not scarce. Hence no special land policy for safeguarding backward and tribal communities was felt necessary at that period of time. Basically Government of Assam framed certain laws to deal with some matters relating to land and these are - (a) Protection & preservation of Government Khas lands (b) acquisition of lands for the development purpose (c) allotment and settlement of lands to landless cultivators (d) allotment of lands for Industry, Tea plantation and setting of various institutions (e) eviction of unauthorized occupants from any kind of lands (f) prevention of influx population from settling down the Government lands (g) transfer of lands and others. Since the independence of India three land policies have been adopted by the state Government so far, first-1958, second-1968 and third-1972. Gradually special laws for the protection of land belonging to backward class and tribal people have been developed in present form.

In July 1945 a decision of constituting Tribal belts and Blocks was adopted as resolution. In pursuance of that the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886 was amended in 1947. The Chapter-X had been added to that aiming at to protection and preservation of tribal area from the external non-tribal aggressions.  The Chapter-X defines the classes entitled and classes not entitled to settle within notified belts and blocks areas. As per the existing rule of Chapter-X registration deeds or possession of land by way of transfer, exchange, lease by any non tribal under the Indian registration Act 1908 is forbidden. Even recent amendment made provision that the transferor and transferee of lands also within tribal belts and blocks, if it is contravention to the Chapter-X law, is punishable. 

 During 1930s the impact of migrants over tribal inhabited area forced the District officials to demarcate certain tribal areas as closed for the immigrants and non-tribal for the maintenance of peace and order.  That was popularly known as Line System but it could not work long due to certain controversies. The Hockenbil Committee, 1936 enquired the working of Line System and recommended ejections of unauthorized occupants of closed village. The committee also recommended for enlargement of prohibited areas for protection of the backward and tribal communities from immigrants.

But irony of the fact is that Tribal belts and blocks are the first and worst sufferer of illegal influx and non-tribal encroachments in the last several decades. Corrupt machineries of the Government and as a part of policy of negation to the tribal rights over their lands, lakhs of bighas of lands under tribal belts and blocks are allowed for encroachments by the illegal encroachers. Tribal Belts and Blocks covers the land area about 1, 25, 28, 320 bighas and as per the record till 1990, tribal lost total about 3, 60,601 bighas of lands within the Tribal Belts and Blocks areas, (79,594 bighas encroachments and 2, 81, 007 bighas denotified). Even to facilitate the refugees who fled from Bangladesh during its liberation war in 1971-72, tribal lands within Bijni and Tamulpur subdivisions were de-notified and distributed. As a result a sharp decline in proportion of tribal population has been found in those areas.

Over hundred years old land revenue administration is still continuing in Assam with certain modification. After British annexed Assam in 1826 they brought certain changes in land administration. The Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886 together with the rules framed there-under the Assam Land records Manual, 1906, the Assam Land revenue Re-assessment Act, 1936 and Assam Land Revenue Resettlement Manual, 1936 constituted the bed-rock of land revenue administration formulated by the British. Lands under both general and special categories are administered under those Laws and Acts. Assam having 90% farmers’ population land policy decides their fate, livelihood, their present and future economy. After 65 yrs of our independence also we have to see the Bhumi Andolon today because land policies could not deliver the result in decades. More than 50% tribal and other indigenous people have no land holdings in the state and their legitimacy as residents of the state is frequently questioned.  

Land policies adopted by the Government time to time have long existence but poor implementations in practice. Land acquisition and allotment of the same for the purpose of industrialization, Urbanizations, Tea Plantations, a-forestation and public-private institutions may have achieved maximum success in implementation. But protection and preservation of Khas land has never been executed forcefully. Government was never been successful in carrying out the policy of eviction of influx and illegal occupants from the Khas land, protected lands  or any Government lands. Unchecked inflow of influx and taking hold of lands by them within protected areas is marginalizing the protected class of people in their own land. General policy of settlement under the new law, 1989 has also limited   implementation in protected tribal areas. Allotment of lands for agriculture and homestead, if a person possessed certain plot of lands at-least for 3 years, under that law is also not permissible if it contravenes the Chapter – X. But Government unscrupulously allotted thousands of such lands to non-tribal occupants as per the general settlement policy to landless people and thus tribal population has been marginalized. Government was also never been successful in protecting forest area from the unauthorized occupants. Rather tribal are frequently targeted for eviction from the forest which is against the natural rights.

Tribal population is affected by three main reasons in the country – (1) Urbanization (2) A-forestation       and (4) Rural Land Ceiling. By the urbanization process tribal population are always evacuated from their traditionally settled areas. Story of establishing Dispur, Mongoldoi and Lakhimpur cities and towns in Assam are the glaring example from where tribal had to flee just to provide space for that development. Even recently for the setting of IIT Guwahati hundreds of tribal families had to leave their ancestral lands. In the name of a-forestation tribal are evicted and their population is dispersed here and there because, Government never takes rehabilitation policy for evicted people. Thousands of tribal population evicted from forest during 1970s and 80s spread up-to Assam-Nagaland border and many bordering areas.  The Assam Fixation of Ceiling of Land Holdings Act, 1956 came into force in 1958 was vigorously enforced in entire plain districts of Assam in 1970. By that act land ceiling was fixed at 50 bighas per family and tribal people lost immeasurable quantity of lands and ownership right over their ancestral lands was reduced to a minimum level.   Lands acquired under Ceiling Act were distributed for various purposes like Tea Gardens, Industries and Institutions. Accordingly some lands were distributed to population too. Some records of land acquisition and distribution till 1990 is found like below –

Land Acquired : From the Tea Garden-4,16591.72 acres, Individual pattadars – 1,93777.95 acres. Total-6,10,369.67 acres.

Land distributed : ST-46,394.06 acres. SC-33,507.75acres. Tea Garden Tribe-71,478.23 acres. Minorities-33, 561. 49 acres. General-21,623.68 acres, Institutions-19,832.12 acres.

Number of beneficiaries: ST- 3, 70,729 families, SC-34,231 families, Tea Garden Tribes-72,827 families, Minorities-32,520 families, General-1, 99,159 families and Institutions-499 numbers.

We have the tradition of caring illegal influx population more than the native indigenous people while distributing the lands. Lakhs of indigenous and tribal families are still landless in general and forest areas. The Scheduled Tribe and Traditional Forest Dwellers Right Act, 2006 provides right to tribal and traditional forest dwellers to have land within forest area also. But 75% of tribal populations in present Sonitpur district are officially landless because Government never issued Pattas to them despite the fact that they have been living for century. Such situation extends up-to many districts of Assam. Degraded forest lands are becoming a hot destination for influx population where local indigenous and tribal people are barred. Indigenous people are denied land rights in their own lands even in surrounding areas of Guwahati. After centuries passed indigenous and tribal people’s existence will again be questioned because of not holding lands today.

The present Land policy of the state is so comprehensive document that can encompass every aspect of the problems like protection-preservation, acquisition and distribution. But in practice the enforcement of the same is poorly effective where maximum cases relating to land are never disposed of or settled. In recent period there is a rise in number of displaced people in the state due to various reasons. (a) Flood erosion (b) construction of big dams (c) civil conflicts and evictions from forest are the main of the reasons. Over half million displaced people are still not rehabilitated with proper land allotments. On the other hand unchecked rise of population in the state is becoming a burden on this land. Population is splitting at the family level and family wise land holding reducing to none in rural areas. Government does not have any long term policy for rehabilitating displaced people and allotment of lands to landless people properly. Allotment of lands to displaced people has become a big issue today because large number of them did not have land holding before their displacement also. In view of above all I feel strongly that the Government should bring a strong and effective Land Reform with regard to its policy and implementation. An (a) Exclusive and inalienable Land policy for the indigenous and tribal people (b) safeguard to the Government Khas land, Forest land etc with stringent law from the illegal influx or encroachers (c) providing  land pattas to all indigenous  and tribal people including forest dwellers (d) Maintenance of degraded forestland for the benefit of local indigenous and tribal people (e) Proper management of wasteland and etc are the main issues today that demands effective policy and execution from the state Government.