STATE REVENUE MINISTERS FOR ACCELERATING LAND
REFORMS
PATTADAR PASS BOOK DISTRIBUTION
TO BE COMPLETED BY MARCH 2004
The two-day conference of the State Revenue Ministers
has resolved to accelerate the pace of various land reforms programmes
during the year 2002-03. The Conference which concluded here today
was attended by Revenue Ministers from most of the States and
the Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It further agreed
that cases pending in various courts involving ceiling surplus
land need to be expedited and this land be made available to the
rural poor. It was also agreed to extend the scheme of Computerisation
of Land Records to all the districts of the country.
The Conference noted that reasonable progress has
been achieved with regard to land reforms. Intermediaries have
been abolished on 15 million acres of land and ownership rights
granted to 20 million tillers. 12.42 million tenants have their
rights protected over an area of 15.63 million acres of land.
An area of 163.34 million acres has been consolidated. About 5.30
million acres of ceiling surplus land has been distributed to
5.50 million rural poor. Over 50 per cent of the beneficiaries
belong to SC/ST category. About 14.74 million acres of Government
Wastelands and 2.17 million acres of Bhoodan land have been distributed.
0.43 million acres of alienated land have been restored to STs.
It was agreed that "On-line Mutation and Updation
of Land Records" and issuance of copies of Record of Rights
through computers with legal backup need to be ensured by all
the States and Union Territories by the end of the Tenth Plan
Period. The provision for security of data, user identification
by introducing new technologies like bio-matrices was endorsed.
In the Conference, emphasis was also placed on "Development
of Comprehensive Land Record Information System" by providing
horizontal and vertical connectivity with other user Departments.
It was resolved that the Draft Model Pattadar Pass Book and Model
Pattadar Pass Book Bill circulated to the States/Union Territories
may be processed for adoption and Action Plans prepared for distribution
of Passbooks to the farmers latest by March, 2004.
